High prevalence of trachomatous inflammation–follicular with no trachomatous trichiasis: can alternative indicators explain the epidemiology of trachoma in Côte d’Ivoire?

Summary

This article reports on a study prompted by an unusual epidemiological profile of high baseline trachomatous inflammation–follicular (TF) prevalence in children not accompanied by a high trachomatous trichiasis (TT) prevalence in adults.

The study demonstrates the utility of measuring multiple indicators to better understand the epidemiology of trachoma and inform programmatic decision making. The updated TF prevalence plus infection and antibody data all suggest that trachoma is not a public health problem in the two evaluation units surveyed and that no further interventions for trachoma are required.