Effect of Biannual Mass Azithromycin Distributions to Preschool-Aged Children on Trachoma Prevalence in Niger

JAMA Network Open

By 
Ahmed M. Arzika, 
Dallas Mindo-Panusis, 
Amza Abdou, 
Boubacar Kadri, 
Beido Nassirou, 
Ramatou Maliki, 
Amer F. Alsoudi, 
Tianyi Zhang, 
Sun Y. Cotter, 
Elodie Lebas, 
Kieran S. O’Brien, 
E. Kelly Callahan, 
Robin L. Bailey, 
Sheila K. West, 
E. Brook Goodhew, 
Diana L. Martin, 
Benjamin F. Arnold, 
Travis C. Porco, 
Thomas M. Lietman, 
and Jeremy D. Keenan for the Macrolides Oraux pour Réduire les Décés Avec un Oeil sur la Resistance (MORDOR)–Niger Study Group

Description: In districts with endemic trachoma, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends mass azithromycin distribution to the entire community. However, transmission of ocular strains of Chlamydia trachomatis is greatest among preschool-aged children, and targeting drug distribution to these groups may conserve resources and limit the risk of antimicrobial resistance. This cluster-randomized clinical trial investigated the efficacy of biannual mass azithromycin distribution to children ages 1 to 59 months as a strategy for trachoma elimination in the hypoendemic setting of rural Niger.

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Subcategory: Mass Drug Administration (MDA)

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