Abstract
BackgroundTrachoma is the commonest infectious cause of blindness. It is prevalent in areas where personal and community hygiene is poor, and it mainly affects deprived and marginalized communities most importantly in Ethiopia. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of active trachoma among children in Ethiopia.MethodA systematic review and meta-analysis was employed to determine the prevalence of active trachoma and associated factors among children in Ethiopia. We searched databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, EMBASE and Cochrane Library. To estimate the prevalence, studies reporting the prevalence of active trachoma and its associated factors were included. Data were extracted using a standardized data extraction format prepared in Microsoft excel and the analysis was done using STATA 14 statistical software. To assess heterogeneity, the Cochrane Q test statistics and I2 test were used. Since the included studies revealed considerable heterogeneity, a random effect meta- analysis model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of active trachoma. Moreover, the association between factors and active trachoma were examined.ResultsThe result of 30 eligible studies showed that the overall prevalence of active trachoma among children in Ethiopia was 26.9% (95% CI: 22.7, 31.0%). In the subgroup analysis, while the highest prevalence was reported in SNNP (35.8%; 95% CI: 22.7, 48.8), the lowest prevalence was reported in Oromia region (20.2%; 95% CI: 12.2, 28.2). Absence of latrine: OR 6.0 (95% CI 2.0, 17.5), the unclean faces of children: OR 5.5 (95% CI 2.8, 10.9), and no reported use of soap for washing: OR 3.3 (95% CI 1.8, 6.0) have shown a positive association with active trachoma among children.ConclusionFrom this review, it has been concluded that active trachoma among children is still a public health problem in different districts of Ethiopia. The prevalence of almost all studies are significantly higher than WHO target for elimination. Absence of latrine, unclean faces of children, no reported use of soap for washing are the important factors associated with active trachoma among children.
Highlights
Trachoma is the commonest infectious cause of blindness
From this review, it has been concluded that active trachoma among children is still a public health problem in different districts of Ethiopia
Five full text articles [43,44,45,46,47] that have been conducted from various regions across Ethiopia were not included since their outcome estimates were different from prevalence of active trachoma in children which is the outcome of interest of this study, and they have been done in the adult population that is not the population of interest of the current study
Summary
Trachoma is the commonest infectious cause of blindness It is prevalent in areas where personal and community hygiene is poor, and it mainly affects deprived and marginalized communities most importantly in Ethiopia. In 2017, in the 22 countries of WHO’s Africa Region in which trachoma is known to be a public health problem, more than 226,000 people with trichiasis were given operations (95% of the global total operated on for trichiasis), and more than 79 million people were treated with antibiotics Considering it as a public health problem, Ethiopia had signed the VISION 2020 Initiative in 2002 and developed its own 20 years strategic plan to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem [8]
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