Publications by authors named "P Courtright"
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on improving the identification and management of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) cases in Kano State, Nigeria, by comparing different case-finding approaches.
- Four different methods were tested across three local areas, showing significant variation in outreach attendance and case discovery rates.
- House-to-house case finding proved to be the most efficient in terms of yield and cost-effectiveness, identifying a higher proportion of TT cases than methods like using town criers.
Article Synopsis
- Trachoma is a major public health target for elimination in Nigeria by 2030, with systematic efforts starting in 2002 and partnerships like the Global Trachoma Mapping Project aiding in data collection.
- Over the years, significant actions have been taken, including providing over 34 million antibiotic treatments and addressing trichiasis management in 231 local government areas, resulting in 89 LGAs eliminating active trachoma.
- Continued progress in improving water and sanitation, along with strong national program leadership and sustained funding, is essential for achieving the elimination of trachoma as a public health issue in Nigeria by the set deadline.
Purpose: Population-based prevalence surveys are essential for decision-making on interventions to achieve trachoma elimination as a public health problem. This paper outlines the methodologies of Tropical Data, which supports work to undertake those surveys.
Methods: Tropical Data is a consortium of partners that supports health ministries worldwide to conduct globally standardised prevalence surveys that conform to World Health Organization recommendations.
Baseline trachoma surveys in Côte d'Ivoire (2019) identified seven evaluation units (EUs) with a trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) prevalence ≥10%, but a trachomatous trichiasis (TT) prevalence in individuals ≥15 y of age below the elimination threshold (0.2%). Two of these EUs, Bondoukou 1 and Bangolo 2, were selected for a follow-up survey to understand the epidemiology of trachoma using additional indicators of Chlamydia trachomatis infection (DNA from conjunctival swabs) and exposure (anti-Pgp3 and Ct694 antibodies from dried blood spots [DBSs]).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We explored reasons for continuing higher-than-anticipated prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) unknown to the health system in population-based prevalence surveys in evaluation units where full geographical coverage of TT case finding was reported.
Methods: A mixed-methods study in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania was conducted. We compared data from clinical examination, campaign documentation and interviews with original trachoma impact survey (TIS) results.