@article{ed46efa12a9044bfa6ed9ad7f706c030,
title = "Annual Versus Biannual Mass Azithromycin Distribution and Malaria Parasitemia During the Peak Transmission Season Among Children in Niger",
abstract = "Background: Azithromycin has modest efficacy against malaria, and previous cluster randomized trials have suggested that mass azithromycin distribution for trachoma control may play a role in malaria control. We evaluated the effect of annual versus biannual mass azithromycin distribution over a 3-year period on malaria prevalence during the peak transmission season in a region with seasonal malaria transmission in Niger. Methods: Twenty-four communities in Matameye, Niger, were randomized to annual mass azithromycin distribution (3 distributions to the entire community during the peak transmission season) or biannual-targeted azithromycin distribution (6 distributions to children <12 years of age, including 3 in the peak transmission season and 3 in the low transmission season). Malaria indices were evaluated at 36 months during the high transmission season. Results: Parasitemia prevalence was 42.6% (95% confidence interval: 31.7%–53.6%) in the biannual distribution arm compared with 50.6% (95% confidence interval: 40.3%–60.8%) in the annual distribution arm (P = 0.29). There was no difference in parasite density or hemoglobin concentration in the 2 treatment arms. Conclusions: Additional rounds of mass azithromycin distribution during low transmission may not have a significant impact on malaria parasitemia measured during the peak transmission season.",
keywords = "Azithromycin, Malaria, Niger",
author = "Oldenburg, {Catherine E.} and Abdou Amza and Boubacar Kadri and Beido Nassirou and Cotter, {Sun Y.} and Stoller, {Nicole E.} and West, {Sheila K.} and Bailey, {Robin L.} and Porco, {Travis C.} and Keenan, {Jeremy D.} and Lietman, {Thomas M.} and Gaynor, {Bruce D.}",
note = "Funding Information: Accepted for publication August 27, 2017. From the *Francis I. Proctor Foundation, †Department of Ophthalmology, and ‡Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California; §Programme FSS/Universit{\'e} Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Programme National de Sant{\'e} Oculaire, Niamey, Niger; ¶Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; and ║Clinical Research Unit, Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov NCT00792922. The Partnership for the Rapid Elimination of Trachoma (PRET) was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Principal Investigator: S.K.W.). CEO was supported by National Institute of Mental Health R25MH083620 (Principal Investigator: Nunn). The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Address for correspondence: Catherine E. Oldenburg, ScD, MPH, Francis I. Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco, CA. E-mail: catherine.oldenburg@ucsf.edu. Copyright 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN: 0891-3668/18/3706-0506 DOI: 10.1097/INF.0000000000001813 Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.",
year = "2018",
month = jun,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1097/INF.0000000000001813",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "37",
pages = "506--510",
journal = "Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal",
issn = "0891-3668",
publisher = "Lippincott Williams and Wilkins",
number = "6",
}