1. Clinical signs of trachoma and laboratory evidence of ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a remote Queensland community: a serial cross-sectional study.
- Author
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Lynch KD, Morotti W, Brian G, Ketchup L, Kingston K, Starr M, Ware RS, Everill B, Asgar N, O'Keefe A, Whop LJ, Kaldor JM, and Lambert SB
- Subjects
- Child, Female, Humans, Infant, Child, Preschool, Chlamydia trachomatis, Cross-Sectional Studies, Queensland epidemiology, Australia, Inflammation drug therapy, Prevalence, Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use, Trachoma diagnosis, Trachoma epidemiology, Trachoma drug therapy, Gonorrhea drug therapy
- Abstract
Objectives: To compare the findings of standard clinical assessments and of complementary clinical and laboratory methods for determining whether community-wide treatment for trachoma is warranted in a remote Queensland community., Design: Three cross-sectional screening surveys, 2019-2021, complemented by laboratory pathology testing., Setting: Small community in northwest Queensland with geographic and cultural ties to Northern Territory communities where trachoma persists., Participants: Children aged 1-14 years; opportunistic screening of people aged 15 years or more., Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of clinical signs of trachoma, Chlamydia trachomatis infection, ocular non-chlamydial infections, and seropositivity for antibodies to the C. trachomatis Pgp3 protein., Results: During the three surveys, 73 examinations of 58 children aged 1-4 years, 309 of 171 aged 5-9 years, and 142 of 105 aged 10-14 years for trachoma were undertaken, as were 171 examinations of 164 people aged 15 years or more; 691 of 695 examinations were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people (99%), 337 were of girls or young women (48%). Clinical signs consistent with trachomatous inflammation-follicular were identified in 5-9-year-old children 23 times (7%), including in eleven with non-chlamydial infections and one with a C. trachomatis infection. One child (10-14 years) met the criteria for trachomatous scarring. Two of 272 conjunctival swab samples (all ages) were polymerase chain reaction-positive for C. trachomatis (0.7%). Two of 147 people aged 15 years or more examined in 2019 had trichiasis, both aged 40 years or more. Seven of 53 children aged 1-9 years in 2019 and seven of 103 in 2021 were seropositive for anti-Pgp3 antibodies., Conclusions: Despite the prevalence of clinical signs consistent with trachomatous inflammation-follicular among 5-9-year-old children exceeding the 5% threshold for community-wide treatment, laboratory testing indicated that childhood exposure to ocular C. trachomatis is rare in this community. Laboratory testing should be integrated into Australian trachoma guidelines., (© 2022 The Authors. Medical Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AMPCo Pty Ltd.)
- Published
- 2022
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