Analysis of interventions and socio environmental factors associated with the occurrence of trachoma in Pernambuco in two surveys on schoolchildren conducted in 2006 and 2012

Abstract

Trachoma is the main cause of preventable blindness in developing countries. This paper aims to describe the trachoma situation in the schools of Pernambuco, Brazil, noting guidelines for the control program and analyzing a possible association of the prevalence rates obtained by research in 2006 and 2012 with socioeconomic, demographic and ecological health factors. A descriptive ecological study was performed, using secondary data from investigations within Pernambuco public schools (investigating 79 cities in 2006 and 22 in 2012). Due to the small number of patients examined in 2006, the prevalence numbers estimative was rather inaccurate, methodologically impairing the choice of the 22 cities considered priorities for the SANAR programme in 2012. However, it was only possible to confirm the reduction of Trachoma prevalence in 5 among the 22 priority cities investigated. Demographic studies shall be done and the containing measures shall be reviewed in the state, since the investigation layout is still based in punctual actions campaigns, without the development of other continuous and effective measures that reduce the active types of the disease in order to eliminate Trachoma as a cause of blindness in Brazil.

Keywords:
trachoma; preschool; epidemiology