The validity and reliability of the use of photographs to assess active trachoma and scarring was studied in a village where the disease was hyperendemic. One hundred and thirty six subjects were graded clinically and had photographs taken of the upper tarsal plate. Agreement between the clinical grade in the field and the grade on the photograph was very good for follicular trachoma, severe tr...

Trachoma is the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide. The SAFE strategy, the World Health Organization-recommended method to eliminate blinding trachoma, combines developments in water, sanitation, surgery, and antibiotic treatment. Current literature does not focus on the comprehensive effect these components have on one another. The present systematic review analyzes the added bene...

The presence of trachoma antibody in eye secretions of Saudi Arab children appears to be a direct response to the infecting organism. In 35 of 36 cases, the trachoma antibody type found in eye secretions was identical to the strain type isolated concurrently. Strain types were identified by use of donkey hyperimmune sera prepared against types 1, 1b, and 2. The specificity of the sera was enhan...

Globally, trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness. Survey data consistently show that trachoma-related blindness is two to four times higher in women than men. Tracing the increased risk for trachoma and its consequences for women suggests that other factors besides biology may contribute. Understanding the reasons for the excess risk for and consequences of trachoma in girls and ...

Introduction A number of neglected tropical diseases are targeted for elimination or eradication. An effective surveillance system is critical to determine if these goals have been achieved and maintained. Trachoma has two related but morphologically different presentations that monitored elimination, the active infectious form trachoma trachomatous trichiasis (TT), progression disease. There a...

Ethiopia is the African country with the largest number of cattle (26 million). Because of the potential impact of cattle on the transmission and severity of trachoma, the major cause of blindness in the country, an attempt is made to document this association to justify the inclusion of the control of cattle pollution in the prevention of blindness. The prevalence of trachoma is lower in pasto...

OBJECTIVES Prior to commencing a campaign to eliminate blinding trachoma in Mali, a national disease prevalence survey was conducted from March 1996 to June 1997. The prevalence of trachoma was estimated and potential risk factors were studied. METHODS In each of Mali's seven regions (excluding the capital Bamako), a sample of 30 clusters was taken from the general population, in accordance w...

BACKGROUND Susceptibility and resistance to trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness, have been associated with a range of host genetic factors. In vitro studies of the causative organism, Chlamydia trachomatis, demonstrate that iron availability regulates its growth, suggesting that host genes involved in regulating iron status and/or availability may modulate the risk of trachoma. ...

AIM To examine the association of TLR4 Asp299Gly and MICA exon 5 microsatellites polymorphisms with severity of trachoma in a sub-Saharan East Africa population of Tanzanian villagers. METHODS The samples were genotyped for MICA exon 5 microsatellites and the TLR4 299 A/G polymorphism by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP), and GeneScan®, respectively. The association of TLR4 Asp2...

TRACHOMA is one of the major causes of blindness, especially in the East. The common sequelae of corneal involvement by trachoma are only too well known, but the hypertensive aspect of the trachomatous process leading to blindness has not been adequately explored. Conflicting reports have appeared in the literature regarding the relationship of trachoma and ocular hypertension. Muller (1900), d...