Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Dec;101(6):1286-1295.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0450.

Progress to Eliminate Trachoma as a Public Health Problem in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia: Results of 152 Population-Based Surveys

Aisha E P Stewart  1 , Mulat Zerihun  2 , Demelash Gessese  2 , Berhanu Melak  2 , Eshetu Sata  3 , Andrew W Nute  1 , Tigist Astale  3 , Tekola Endeshaw  3 , Tesfaye Teferi  4 , Zerihun Tadesse  3 , Elizabeth Kelly Callahan  1 , Melsew Chanyalew  5 , Birhan Gaudie  6 , Paul M Emerson  7 , Jonathan D King  8 , Scott D Nash  1
Affiliations

Progress to Eliminate Trachoma as a Public Health Problem in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia: Results of 152 Population-Based Surveys

Aisha E P Stewart et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2019 Dec.

Abstract

At baseline in 2006, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia, was the most trachoma-endemic region in the country. Trachoma impact surveys (TIS) were conducted in all districts between 2010 and 2015, following 3-5 years of intervention with the WHO-recommended SAFE (surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvement) strategy. A multistage cluster random sampling design was used to estimate the district-level prevalence of trachoma. In total, 1,887 clusters in 152 districts were surveyed, from which 208,265 individuals from 66,089 households were examined for clinical signs of trachoma. The regional prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) and trachomatous inflammation-intense among children aged 1-9 years was 25.9% (95% CI: 24.9-26.9) and 5.5% (95% CI: 5.2-6.0), respectively. The prevalence of trachomatous scarring and trachomatous trichiasis among adults aged ≥ 15 years was 12.9% (95% CI: 12.2-13.6) and 3.9% (95% CI: 3.7-4.1), respectively. Among children aged 1-9 years, 76.5% (95% CI: 75.3-77.7) presented with a clean face; 66.2% (95% CI: 64.1-68.2) of households had access to water within 30 minutes round-trip, 48.1% (95% CI: 45.5-50.6) used an improved water source, and 46.2% (95% CI: 44.8-47.5) had evidence of a used latrine. Nine districts had a prevalence of TF below the elimination threshold of 5%. In hyperendemic areas, 3-5 years of implementation of SAFE is insufficient to achieve trachoma elimination as a public health problem; additional years of SAFE and several rounds of TIS will be required before trachoma is eliminated.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Scale-up of SAFE interventions by district, Amhara, Ethiopia, 2001–2010. This figure appears in color at www.ajtmh.org.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
District counts of trachomatous inflammation-follicular prevalence among children aged 1–9 years, Amhara, Ethiopia, 2010–2015.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
District counts of trachomatous trichiasis prevalence among adults aged ≥ 15 years, Amhara, Ethiopia, 2010–2015.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. WHO , 2016. Validation of the Elimination of Trachoma as a Public Health Problem. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
    1. WHO , 1997. Future Approaches to Trachoma Control. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
    1. WHO , 2010. Report of the Third Global Scientific Meeting on Trachoma Elimination. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
    1. Berhane Y, Worku A, Bejiga A, 2006. National Survey on Blindness, Low Vision and Trachoma in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Federal Ministry of Health.
    1. Ngondi J, et al. 2009. Evaluation of three years of the safe strategy (surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness and environmental improvement) for trachoma control in five districts of Ethiopia hyperendemic for trachoma. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 103: 1001–1010. - PubMed

Publication types