Children are particularly vulnerable to infection by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis , which results in trachoma, a leading cause of preventable blindness in the world. We have known for decades that we had the antibiotics to successfully treat this disease when cases developed, but we didn't seem to have the right drug delivery method to control the infection over time. Trachoma affects the inner eyelid. After repeated episodes, which begin in childhood, scarring occurs, and the eyelids turn inward causing damage to the cornea.
Total blindness occurs in middle to late life.
Blind adults may not be able to earn a living and can be an economic burden to families and communities. Treatment of trachoma with azithromycin provides long-term benefits not usually available for people in developing countries. Since the 1950s, the standard treatment for trachoma has been daily application of tetracycline ointment in the inflamed eye for six weeks. In the UCSF study, researchers compared the effect of the two antibiotic regimens on infection rates in villages located in trachoma endemic areas where transmission of infection is high. The villages were in the African countries of Egypt, The Gambia and Tanzania.