much of subSaharan Africa) ROP is rare as most premature babies do not have access to neonatal intensive care and so do not survive. Countries with moderate development indices are improving access to neonatal intensive care, and in these settings bigger, more mature babies are also at risk of severe ROP as neonatal care may be suboptimal. These findings have two main implications: firstly, much can be done in countries with moderate development indices to improve neonatal care, to reduce the risk of severe ROP in bigger babies and increase survival of extremely preterm infants, and secondly, in these settings bigger more mature babies need to be included in ROP programs and examined regularly so as to detect those babies developing ROP requiring treatment. In 2012, the World Health Organization published data on rates of preterm birth and the number of premature babies born in different regions of the world. This report contained three main findings: 

Premature birth has many different causes, and prevention is challenging,
Prematurity is the most common cause of neonatal death in many countries, totaling as many as 1 million infants annually due to complications of preterm birth, and
the number of preterm births is currently estimated to be 15 million, and increasing. History
This disease was first described in a premature baby in 1942 as reported by Theodore L. Terry. Between 1941 and 1953, over 12,000 babies worldwide were affected by it. Soul musician Stevie Wonder, actor Tom Sullivan, and jazz singer Diane Schuur are a few famous people who have the disease.
Furthermore, recent trials have shown that treatment at an earlier stage of the disease gives better results. Scleral buckling and/or vitrectomy surgery may be considered for severe ROP (stages 4 and 5) for eyes that progress to retinal detachment. Few centers in the world specialize in this surgery, because of its attendant surgical risks and generally poor outcomes. Intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (Avastin) has been reported as a supportive measure in aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity. In a 2011 clinical trial comparing bevacizumab with conventional laser therapy, intravitreal bevacizumab monotherapy showed a significant benefit for zone I but not zone II disease when used to treat infants with stage 3+ retinopathy of prematurity. Potential benefits of intravitreal Avastin injection over laser therapy include: reduction in level of anesthesia required, preservation of viable peripheral retina, and, possibly, reduced incidence of subsequent high refractive error. However, the safety of this new treatment has not yet been established in terms of ocular complications as well as systemic complications. The latter are theoretically possible, as the active ingredient of bevacizumab not only blocks the development of abnormal blood vessels in the eye but may also prevent the normal development ofother tissues such as the lung and kidney. A 2018 Cochrane review also examined the effectiveness of Anti-vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Drugs and their use for ROP. Oral propranolol is being evaluated for counteracting the progression of ROP, but safety is a concern.