By Tan Ee Lyn

YELANDUR, India, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Mahadevappa, a villager in India's southern state of Karnataka, was diagnosed with diabetes 18 years ago and put on drugs since.

But no one warned him that he could go blind. He ignored what began as a blurred vision about four years ago and the 61-year-old is now left with only a tiny perception of light.

"If he had controlled it properly and gone to eye doctors about 10 years ago, this blindness would not have been necessary," said eye surgeon Shivaram K V, who advised Mahadevappa to undergo surgery, which could restore some vision in his right eye, allowing him to be able to clothe and feed himself. His left eye can no longer be salvaged.

India carries the highest diabetes burden in the world, with 41 million cases in 2007, a number estimated to hit 70 million by 2025 if nothing is done to reverse the trend, warns the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF).

According to the World Health Organisation, at least 180 million people are suffering from diabetes worldwide and that number is expected to more than double by 2030.

The IDF is jointly organising a three-day summit in the city of Chennai on diabetes in India with the WHO, World Diabetes Foundation and World Bank Group.

Despite India's heavy diabetes burden, not all its healthcare workers may be aware of the complications of the silent chronic disease, which can damage the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves.

In the case of Mahadevappa, he developed diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of blindness that occurs as a result of long-term accumulated damage to the small blood vessels in the retina. After 15 years of diabetes, approximately two percent of people become blind and about 10 percent develop severe visual impairment.

DOCTORS ON THE GO

But a group of Indian eye doctors is trying to change that by bringing their services closer to patients in the huge country, and educating both patients and general practitioners about the dangers and complications of the disease.

Backed by the World Diabetes Foundation and a local sponsor, a van carrying sophisticated equipment that screens for diabetic retinopathy now goes to 23 rural locations in Karnataka to screen diabetics for any developing signs of retinopathy.

After India, China has the highest prevalence with 40 million cases in 2007 and that is projected to hit 59 million in 2025. The United States is ranked third with 19 million cases in 2007, and which is set to hit 25 million in 2025.

Diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Sugar then cannot be properly stored or used and it builds up in the bloodstream, resulting in diabetes.

No one is sure why diabetes is such a severe problem among south Asians, particularly Indians, though experts believe it is associated with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, a carbohydrate-rich diet and maybe even a genetic predisposition. (Editing by Valerie Lee)

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