Low Prevalence of Ocular Chlamydia trachomatis Infection and Active Trachoma in the Western Division of Fiji.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness and is caused by ocular infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct). While the majority of the global disease burden is found in sub-Saharan Africa, the Western Pacific Region has been identified as trachoma endemic. Population surveys carried out throughout Fiji have shown an abundance of both clinically active trachoma and trachomatous trichiasis in all divisions. This finding is at odds with the clinical experience of local healthcare workers who do not consider trachoma to be highly prevalent. We aimed to determine whether conjunctival infection with Ct could be detected in one administrative division of Fiji.

Methods

A population-based survey of 2306 individuals was conducted using the Global T

SUBMITTER: Macleod CK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4942140 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature