More awareness is needed around genetic sight loss – expert

There needs to be more awareness about genetic sight loss among the public and specialists, an expert has said. Inherited sight loss conditions are the most common cause of blindness in working age adults in the UK. While there is a lack of accurate data on the number of people affected by these conditions, estimates vary between 21,000 and 35,000. A condition called retinitis pigmentosa is the most common cause of inherited sight loss – and it is thought at least 10,000 people and possibly as many as 17,000 have it. Interviews with Dr Mariya Moosajee consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, Sol Woodroffe student at the University of Oxford, and Bhavini Makwana who has a diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa.