1. High prevalence of trachomatous inflammation–follicular with no trachomatous trichiasis: can alternative indicators explain the epidemiology of trachoma in Côte d'Ivoire?
- Author
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Atekem, Kareen, Harding-Esch, Emma M, Martin, Diana L, Downs, Philip, Palmer, Stephanie L, Kaboré, Achille, Kelly, Michaela, Bovary, Anoma, Sarr, Astou, Nguessan, Konan, James, Fiona, Gwyn, Sarah, Wickens, Karana, Bakhtiari, Ana, Boyd, Sarah, Aba, Ange, Senyonjo, Laura, Courtright, Paul, and Meite, Aboulaye
- Subjects
TRACHOMA ,CHLAMYDIA trachomatis ,CHLAMYDIA infections ,EPIDEMIOLOGY ,CLUSTER sampling - Abstract
Baseline trachoma surveys in Côte d'Ivoire (2019) identified seven evaluation units (EUs) with a trachomatous inflammation–follicular (TF) prevalence ≥10%, but a trachomatous trichiasis (TT) prevalence in individuals ≥15 y of age below the elimination threshold (0.2%). Two of these EUs, Bondoukou 1 and Bangolo 2, were selected for a follow-up survey to understand the epidemiology of trachoma using additional indicators of Chlamydia trachomatis infection (DNA from conjunctival swabs) and exposure (anti-Pgp3 and Ct694 antibodies from dried blood spots [DBSs]). A two-stage cluster sampling methodology was used to select villages and households. All individuals 1–9 y of age from each selected household were recruited, graded for trachoma and had a conjunctival swab and DBS collected. Conjunctival swabs and DBSs were tested using Cepheid GeneXpert and a multiplex bead assay, respectively. The age-adjusted TF and infection prevalence in 1- to 9-year-olds was <1% and <0.3% in both EUs. Age-adjusted seroprevalence was 5.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5 to 15.6) in Bondoukou 1 and 8.2% (95% CI 4.3 to 13.7) in Bangolo 2. The seroconversion rate for Pgp3 was low, at 1.23 seroconversions/100 children/year (95% CI 0.78 to 1.75) in Bondoukou 1 and 1.91 (95% CI 1.58 to 2.24) in Bangolo 2. Similar results were seen for CT694. These infection, antibody and clinical data provide strong evidence that trachoma is not a public health problem in either EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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