Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi.
PLoS One. 2010 Feb 5;5(2):e9067. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009067.
Trachoma, one of the neglected tropical diseases is suspected to be endemic in Malawi.
To determine the prevalence of trachoma and associated risk factors in central and southern Malawi.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A population based survey conducted in randomly selected clusters in Chikwawa district (population 438,895), southern Malawi and Mchinji district (population 456,558), central Malawi. Children aged 1-9 years and adults aged 15 and above were assessed for clinical signs of trachoma. In total, 1010 households in Chikwawa and 1016 households in Mchinji districts were enumerated within 108 clusters (54 clusters in each district). A total of 6,792 persons were examined for ocular signs of trachoma. The prevalence of trachomatous inflammation, follicular (TF) among children aged 1-9 years was 13.6% (CI 11.6-15.6) in Chikwawa and 21.7% (CI 19.5-23.9) in Mchinji districts respectively. The prevalence of trachoma trichiasis (TT) in women and men aged 15 years and above was 0.6% (CI 0.2-0.9) in Chikwawa and 0.3% (CI 0.04-0.6) in Mchinji respectively. The presence of a dirty face was significantly associated with trachoma follicular (TF) in both Chikwawa and Mchinji districts (P<0.001).
CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Prevalence rates of trachoma follicles (TF) in Central and Southern Malawi exceeds the WHO guidelines for the intervention with mass antibiotic distribution (TF>10%), and warrants the trachoma SAFE control strategy to be undertaken in Chikwawa and Mchinji districts.
沙眼是被忽视的热带病之一，据推测在马拉维流行。
确定马拉维中部和南部地区沙眼的流行情况和相关危险因素。
方法/主要发现：在马拉维南部奇克瓦瓦区（人口 438895 人）和中部姆钦吉区（人口 456558 人），采用整群随机抽样方法开展了一项基于人群的调查。对 1-9 岁儿童和 15 岁及以上成人进行沙眼临床体征评估。奇克瓦瓦区和姆钦吉区分别对 108 个（每个区 54 个）集群中的 1010 户和 1016 户家庭进行了计数。共检查了 6792 人眼部的沙眼体征。奇克瓦瓦区和姆钦吉区 1-9 岁儿童的沙眼滤泡性炎症（TF）患病率分别为 13.6%（95%CI 11.6-15.6）和 21.7%（95%CI 19.5-23.9）。15 岁及以上女性和男性的沙眼倒睫（TT）患病率分别为奇克瓦瓦区 0.6%（95%CI 0.2-0.9）和姆钦吉区 0.3%（95%CI 0.04-0.6）。面部污垢与奇克瓦瓦区和姆钦吉区沙眼滤泡（TF）均显著相关（P<0.001）。
结论/意义：马拉维中部和南部地区沙眼滤泡（TF）的流行率超过了世界卫生组织用大规模抗生素分发进行干预的指南（TF>10%），需要在奇克瓦瓦区和姆钦吉区实施沙眼 SAFE 控制策略。
