An index of community ocular Chlamydia trachomatis load for control of trachoma

Quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) technology has recently been applied to the measurement of ocular loads of Chlamydia trachomatis. We present an index called the community ocular C. trachomatis load (COCTL) which is similar to the community microfilarial load (CMFL) of onchocerciasis. Our index has the adva...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2005-03, Vol.99 (3), p.175-177
Main Authors: Alexander, N.D.E., Solomon, A.W., Holland, M.J., Bailey, R.L., West, S.K., Shao, J.F., Mabey, D.C.W., Foster, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration, Oral
Anti-Bacterial Agents - administration & dosage
Azithromycin - administration & dosage
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the eye and orbit
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child, Preschool
Chlamydia trachomatis
Chlamydia trachomatis - isolation & purification
Control programmes
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infant
Infectious diseases
Longitudinal Studies
Medical sciences
Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods
Quantitative PCR
Severity of Illness Index
Tanzania
Tanzania - epidemiology
Trachoma
Trachoma - epidemiology
Trachoma - microbiology
Trachoma - prevention & control
Williams mean
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Summary:Quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) technology has recently been applied to the measurement of ocular loads of Chlamydia trachomatis. We present an index called the community ocular C. trachomatis load (COCTL) which is similar to the community microfilarial load (CMFL) of onchocerciasis. Our index has the advantage of being scale-independent so that, for example, percentage changes are the same whether calculated per eye swab or per Q-PCR capillary. The COCTL for a population or subgroup is formed by adding the arbitrary concentration of 1 organism per ml to each individual Q-PCR quantification, calculating the geometric mean, and finally subtracting 1 per ml again. The use of the COCTL is illustrated in a study of trachoma in northern Tanzania. The COCTL is higher in people with clinical trachoma than those without (5.8 organisms per swab vs. 0.1), and in children aged six months to ten years than in the overall population (1.1 vs. 0.4). The COCTL index is potentially useful for sentinel sites, operational research and calibration of clinical measures of trachoma.
ISSN:0035-9203
1878-3503
DOI:10.1016/j.trstmh.2004.05.003