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Arthur Ferguson MacCallan CBE, MD, FRCS (1872–1955) was an ophthalmic surgeon who undertook his pioneering work in Egypt between 1903 and 1923 (figure 1).i He became a world authority on trachoma; the MacCallan Classification of Trachoma, initially published in 1908, was the first grading system used to standardise the diagnosis of trachoma and was later adopted by the WHO. He also established the ophthalmic hospital infrastructure consisting of travelling and permanent hospitals, along with the training of surgeons. This fight to eliminate trachoma continues, with the WHO setting a target date for the Global Elimination of Blinding Trachoma by 2020 (‘GET 2020’). As a contribution to achieving this goal, the International Coalition for Trachoma Control (ICTC) inaugurated the ‘ICTC MacCallan Medal’ii in 2014. By naming this award after Arthur, it recognises his pioneering spirit and accomplishments which continue to resonate with the profession today.
The seeds of Arthur's work were sown when the highly contagious eye-disease trachoma, which had existed in Egypt for centuries, was imposed on the Europeans due to the return of the British and other combatants’ troops to their respective countries after Napoleon's invasion and subsequent defeat in Egypt (1798–1801). In Britain, this led to the opening, in 1805, of the dispensary for Curing Diseases of the Eye and Ear (‘Moorfields’) to treat the disease. Britain's further involvement in Egypt increased from 1882, to protect its interest in the Suez Canal, but it was not until the late 1890s, during the construction of the first Aswan Dam, that the financier and philanthropist Sir Ernest Cassel became so shocked at the extent of ophthalmia among the vast workforceiii that, in 1902, he established a trust fund of £E40 000 (equivalent to £4 million today) with the …
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