TY - JOUR
T1 - Trachoma and antibiotic use
T2 - The A' in SAFE
AU - West, Sheila
N1 - Funding Information:
S West received a Senior Scientific Award from Research to Prevent Blindness. This work was supported in part by a grant from the Bill and
Copyright:
Copyright 2012 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2012/1
Y1 - 2012/1
N2 - Trachoma, a chronic conjunctivitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. In recognition of this public health problem, the World Health Assembly has targeted the year 2020 to eliminate blinding trachoma, and a multifaceted strategy (SAFE) is recommended, including antibiotics for treatment of infection. Trachoma is a disease of entire communities, and the pool of infection resides largely in preschool age children. Thus, for endemic communities, mass treatment with antibiotics annually for at least 3-5 years is carried out. The antibiotics used, the effectiveness of this approach, and the challenges of antibiotic treatment of communities are discussed, concluding with a view towards the elimination of trachoma in the future.
AB - Trachoma, a chronic conjunctivitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. In recognition of this public health problem, the World Health Assembly has targeted the year 2020 to eliminate blinding trachoma, and a multifaceted strategy (SAFE) is recommended, including antibiotics for treatment of infection. Trachoma is a disease of entire communities, and the pool of infection resides largely in preschool age children. Thus, for endemic communities, mass treatment with antibiotics annually for at least 3-5 years is carried out. The antibiotics used, the effectiveness of this approach, and the challenges of antibiotic treatment of communities are discussed, concluding with a view towards the elimination of trachoma in the future.
KW - Chlamydia trachomatis
KW - azithromycin
KW - mass treatment
KW - neglected tropical disease
KW - tetracycline
KW - trachoma
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U2 - 10.1586/eri.11.150
DO - 10.1586/eri.11.150
M3 - Review article
C2 - 22149616
AN - SCOPUS:83455236511
SN - 1478-7210
VL - 10
SP - 75
EP - 83
JO - Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy
JF - Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy
IS - 1
ER -