The association between latrine use and trachoma: a secondary cohort analysis from a randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Latrine use has been promoted as a component of an integrated strategy for trachoma control. As part of a randomized trial in Ethiopia, 12 communities received a mass azithromycin distribution followed by a latrine promotion intervention. A random sample of children ages 0-9 years in each community was monitored longitudinally for ocular chlamydia. After latrine construction ended, those communities with a higher proportion of households using latrines were more likely to experience a reduction in the prevalence of ocular chlamydia. Specifically, for each 10% increase in latrine use, there was a 2.0% decrease (95% confidence interval = 0.2-3.9% decrease) in the community prevalence of ocular chlamydia over the subsequent year (P = 0.04).

Figure 1.

Scatter plot of the proportion of households using a latrine versus the change in the prevalence of (A) ocular Chlamydia and (B) clinically active trachoma in 12 months after assessment of latrine use. Clinically active trachoma was defined as TF and/or TI according to the simplified WHO grading system. The dark grey line represents the regression line, and the light grey bars are the 95% CIs.