ArticleThe Medical journal of Australia2022
Clinical signs of trachoma and laboratory evidence of ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection in a remote Queensland community: a serial cross-sectional study.
Article in The Medical journal of Australia, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence, Treatment, and Outcomes of Corneal Disease in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Australia: A Systematic Review.Clinical & experimental ophthalmology · 2026Pooled it
- Comparison of Methods for Assessing Chlamydia trachomatis Transmission Intensity: A Systematic Review.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2026Article
- Does persistent active trachoma mandate antibiotic mass drug administration? A comparison of prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular with that of conjunctival infection and anti-chlamydial antibodies, Western Province, Zambia.International health · 2026Article
- Community-Based Pilot Study ofMedicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Corneal pannus, Herbert's pits and conjunctival inflammation in older children in Papua New Guinea.Ophthalmic epidemiology · 2024Article
- High prevalence of trachomatous inflammation-follicular with no trachomatous trichiasis: can alternative indicators explain the epidemiology of trachoma in Côte d'Ivoire?International health · 2023Article
- Where should we offer mass drug administration for trachoma?The Medical journal of Australia · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo compare the findings of standard clinical assessments and of complementary clinical and laboratory methods for determining whether community-wide treatment for trachoma is warranted in a remote Queensland community.
designThree cross-sectional screening surveys, 2019-2021, complemented by laboratory pathology testing.
settingSmall community in northwest Queensland with geographic and cultural ties to Northern Territory communities where trachoma persists.
participantsChildren aged 1-14 years; opportunistic screening of people aged 15 years or more.
main outcome measuresPrevalence of clinical signs of trachoma, Chlamydia trachomatis infection, ocular non-chlamydial infections, and seropositivity for antibodies to the C. trachomatis Pgp3 protein.
resultsDuring the three surveys, 73 examinations of 58 children aged 1-4 years, 309 of 171 aged 5-9 years, and 142 of 105 aged 10-14 years for trachoma were undertaken, as were 171 examinations of 164 people aged 15 years or more; 691 of 695 examinations were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people (99%), 337 were of girls or young women (48%). Clinical signs consistent with trachomatous inflammation-follicular were identified in 5-9-year-old children 23 times (7%), including in eleven with non-chlamydial infections and one with a C. trachomatis infection. One child (10-14 years) met the criteria for trachomatous scarring. Two of 272 conjunctival swab samples (all ages) were polymerase chain reaction-positive for C. trachomatis (0.7%). Two of 147 people aged 15 years or more examined in 2019 had trichiasis, both aged 40 years or more. Seven of 53 children aged 1-9 years in 2019 and seven of 103 in 2021 were seropositive for anti-Pgp3 antibodies.
conclusionsDespite the prevalence of clinical signs consistent with trachomatous inflammation-follicular among 5-9-year-old children exceeding the 5% threshold for community-wide treatment, laboratory testing indicated that childhood exposure to ocular C. trachomatis is rare in this community. Laboratory testing should be integrated into Australian trachoma guidelines.
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