Prevalence of trachoma in school children in the Marajó Archipelago, Brazilian Amazon, and the impact of the introduction of educational and preventive measures on the disease over eight years

Autor: Antonio Carlos Rosário Vallinoto, Maria Alice Freitas Queiroz, Antonio José Ledo Alves da Cunha, Joana da Felicidade Ribeiro Favacho, Marluísa de Oliveira Guimarães Ishak, Ricardo Ishak, Samara Tatielle Monteiro Gomes, Felipe Bonfim Freitas
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Bacterial Diseases
Male
Rural Population
Serotype
Eye Diseases
Social Sciences
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
Chlamydia trachomatis
Disease
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Blindness
medicine.disease_cause
Geographical locations
Families
0302 clinical medicine
Sociology
Hygiene
Medicine and Health Sciences
Prevalence
Chlamydia
Child
Children
Health Education
Geographic Areas
media_common
Visual Impairments
Schools
Geography
lcsh:Public aspects of medicine
Educa??o de Pacientes como Assunto
Bacterial Pathogens
Infectious Diseases
Trachoma
Medical Microbiology
Educational Status
Female
Health education
Pathogens
Brazil
Research Article
Neglected Tropical Diseases
Urban Areas
lcsh:Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
Adolescent
lcsh:RC955-962
media_common.quotation_subject
030231 tropical medicine
Schoolchildren
Developing country
Microbiology
Education
03 medical and health sciences
Regi?o Norte (BR)
Environmental health
medicine
Tracoma / diagn?stico
Humans
Microbial Pathogens
Direct fluorescent antibody
Chlamydia trachomatis / patogenicidade
Preven??o de Doen?as
Bacteria
Maraj? (PA)
Clinical Laboratory Techniques
business.industry
Organisms
Public Health
Environmental and Occupational Health
Biology and Life Sciences
lcsh:RA1-1270
Doen?as Negligenciadas
South America
Tropical Diseases
medicine.disease
Tracoma / epidemiologia
Ophthalmology
Age Groups
Earth Sciences
030221 ophthalmology & optometry
Population Groupings
People and places
business
Zdroj: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 12, Iss 2, p e0006282 (2018)
Repositório Digital do Instituto Evandro Chagas (Patuá)
Instituto Evandro Chagas (IEC)
instacron:IEC
ISSN: 1935-2735
Popis: Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness in the world and is associated with precarious living conditions in developing countries. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of trachoma in three municipalities of the Marajó Archipelago, located in the state of Pará, Brazil. In 2008, 2,054 schoolchildren from the public primary school system of the urban area of the region and their communicants were clinically examined; in 2016, 1,502 schoolchildren were examined. The positive cases seen during the clinical evaluation were confirmed by direct immunofluorescence (DIF) laboratory tests. The presence of antibodies against the genus Chlamydia was evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF), and the serotypes were determined by microimmunofluorescence (MIF). In 2008, the prevalence of trachoma among schoolchildren was 3.4% (69 cases) and it was more frequent in children between six and nine years of age and in females; among the communicants, a prevalence of 16.5% was observed. In 2016, three cases of trachoma were diagnosed (prevalence of 0.2%), found only in the municipality of Soure. The results of the present study showed that in 2008, trachoma had a low prevalence (3.4%) among schoolchildren in the urban area of Marajó Archipelago; eight years after the first evaluation and the introduction of control and prevention measures (SAFE strategy), there was a drastic reduction in the number of cases (0.2%), demonstrating the need for constant monitoring and effective measures for the elimination of trachoma.
Author summary Trachoma is one of the main neglected infectious diseases and carry a considerable burden to human health as a consequence of the clinical severity of the disease which may evolve to blindness. The lack of hygiene, education and other indicators of low social and economic markers occurring in developing and underdeveloped countries favour the spread of Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacterium causing trachoma. Although there is an easy, cheap and available treatment, reinfections are common and transmission is a consequence of bad hygienic habits and the various serotypes of the bacterium. The Marajó territory, in the North of the Amazon region of Brazil, is a large area with an ill educated, poor population, with almost no access to health resources and with almost no chance of transportation to major urban centers. Trachoma was detected a long time ago in the island and now, for the first time, a clear effort was produced during an eight year period in order to improve health hygienic habits among children and their relatives. The number of new cases following an initial diagnosis, was significantly reduced by the application of the WHO SAFE (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial hygiene and Education for better habits) strategy.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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