Trachoma is an ancient eye disease, well described in the Ebers Papyrus, which was written in Egypt 3800 years ago. It is a chronic keratoconjunctivitis that begins with acute inflammatory changes in the conjunctiva and cornea and progresses to scarring and blindness. The C. trachomatis serovars A, B, Ba, and C are associated with clinical trachoma.

Clinical Findings

 The incubation period for chlamydial conjunctival infection is 3–10 days. In endemic areas, initial infection occurs in early childhood, and the onset of the long-term consequence, trachoma, is insidious. Chlamydial infection is often mixed with bacterial conjunctivitis in endemic areas, and the two together produce the clinical picture. The earliest symptoms of trachoma are lacrimation, mucopurulent discharge, conjunctival hyperemia, and follicular hypertrophy. Microscopic examination of the cornea reveals epithelial keratitis, sub epithelial infiltrates, and extension of limbal vessels into the cornea (pannus). As the pannus extends downward across the cornea, there are scarring of the conjunctiva, eyelid deformities (entropion, trichiasis), and an added insult caused by eyelashes sweeping across the cornea (trichiasis). With secondary bacterial infection, loss of vision progresses over a period of years. There are, however, no systemic symptoms or signs of infection. The World Health Organization has a grading scheme for assessment of trachoma (see reference by Batteiger and Tan).

Laboratory Diagnosis

 The laboratory diagnosis of chlamydial infections is also dis cussed in Chapter 47.

 A. Culture

Typical cytoplasmic inclusions are found in epithelial cells of conjunctival scrapings stained with fluorescent antibody or by the Giemsa method. These occur most frequently in the early stages of the disease and on the upper tarsal conjunctiva.

Inoculation of conjunctival scrapings into cycloheximide-treated McCoy cell cultures permits growth of C. trachomatis if the number of viable infectious particles is sufficiently large. Centrifugation of the inoculum into the cells increases the sensitivity of the method. The diagnosis can sometimes be made in the first passage after 2–3 days of incubation by looking for inclusions by immunofluorescence or staining with iodine or Giemsa stain.

 B. Serology

 Infected individuals often develop both group antibodies and serovar-specific antibodies in serum and in eye secretions. Immunofluorescence is the most sensitive method for their detection. Neither ocular nor serum antibodies confer significant resistance to reinfection.

C. Molecular Methods

Developing countries, where trachoma is endemic, generally do not have the resources to apply polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or other molecular methods to the diagnosis of C. trachomatis infections of the eye. Developed countries have relatively little trachoma and little need for such tests. Thus, the molecular methods have been developed for the diagnosis of genital infections. Only research projects have used PCR in studies of trachoma.

Treatment

Clinical trials in villages with endemic trachoma using mass azithromycin treatment show that infection and clinical disease are greatly decreased at 6 and 12 months after therapy; this is true even with single-dose therapy. Thus, azithromycin has replaced erythromycin and doxycycline in the mass treatment of endemic trachoma. Topical therapy is of little value.

Epidemiology and Control

It is believed that more than 400 million people throughout the world have trachoma and that 20 million are blinded by it. The disease is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean basin, where hygienic conditions are poor and water is scarce. In such hyperendemic areas, child hood infection may be universal, and severe blinding disease (resulting from frequent bacterial superinfection) is com mon. In the United States, trachoma occurs sporadically in some areas, and endemic foci persist.

 The World Health Organization has initiated the S-A-F-E program to eliminate blinding trachoma and at least markedly reduce clinically active disease. The S-A-F-E program is as follows: surgery for deformed eyelids, periodic azithromycin therapy, face washing and hygiene, and environmental improvement such as building latrines and decreasing the number of flies that feed on conjunctival exudates. It is clear that improved socioeconomic conditions enhance the disappearance of endemic trachoma.

اخر الاخبار

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متحف الكفيل: نتّبع أحدث الأساليب العلمية في حفظ القطع التاريخية الثمينة وترميمها

قسم الشؤون الفكرية يعقد اجتماعه الفصلي لمناقشة الجوانب التنظيمية والإدارية والفنية

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Mycoplasma Pneumonia and Atypical Pneumonias

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