Trachoma Amelioration in Northern Amhara (TANA)
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
The WHO has initiated a program to eliminate trachoma, blinding eye infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, in large part by mass distributions of oral azithromycin. The proposed study will determine the frequency and treatment target of community-wide mass antibiotic treatment. We will also study the impact of mass antibiotic distribution on antibiotic-resistance in pneumococcus.
Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
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Phase 4 |
Detailed Description
The proposed study is a group-randomized trial to determine the frequency and treatment target of community-wide mass antibiotic treatment to eliminate trachoma. We will also study the impact of community-wide antibiotic distribution on antibiotic-resistance in pneumococcus. Communities in Goncha Siso Enese district of East Gojam Zone, Ethiopia will be randomly assigned to different treatment schemes and monitored to study the following research questions:
Specific Aim 1. To determine whether biannual mass treatments is more likely to eliminate ocular chlamydia from hyper-endemic communities than annual mass treatments.
Specific Aim 2. To determine whether children form a core group for the transmission of trachoma.
Specific Aim 3. To determine whether latrine construction prevents the return of infection into a community after mass treatment.
Specific Aim 4. To determine the effect of mass azithromycin treatments on antibiotic resistance in pneumococcus and the reduction in mortality.
Specific Aim 5. To determine whether annual mass treatments are more likely to eliminate ocular chlamydia from hyper-endemic communities than biennial mass treatments.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
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Other: A Annual mass treatment |
Drug: Mass treatment with oral azithromycin to an entire community
For baseline and follow-up surveys prior to azithromycin distribution, a stratified random sample from two age groups will be chosen: 1) 60 study participants younger than 10 years old and 2) 60 study participants aged 10 years and above. Clinical examination will be performed and conjunctival swabs will be taken from all the study participants. For study arm C and D, nasopharyngeal swabs will be collected from 10 randomly selected children among the 60 participants under 10 who were recruited for conjunctival swabbing. Then a single dose of azithromycin will be distributed according to study design: in tablet form for adults; a weight-adjusted tablet dose for children ages 8-10; and pediatric suspension for children ages 1 - 7.
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Other: B Biannual mass treatment |
Drug: Mass treatment with oral azithromycin to an entire community
For baseline and follow-up surveys prior to azithromycin distribution, a stratified random sample from two age groups will be chosen: 1) 60 study participants younger than 10 years old and 2) 60 study participants aged 10 years and above. Clinical examination will be performed and conjunctival swabs will be taken from all the study participants. For study arm C and D, nasopharyngeal swabs will be collected from 10 randomly selected children among the 60 participants under 10 who were recruited for conjunctival swabbing. Then a single dose of azithromycin will be distributed according to study design: in tablet form for adults; a weight-adjusted tablet dose for children ages 8-10; and pediatric suspension for children ages 1 - 7.
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Experimental: C Mass administration of antibiotic; treatment of children (1-10 years of age) only |
Drug: Mass treatment with oral azithromycin to an entire community
For baseline and follow-up surveys prior to azithromycin distribution, a stratified random sample from two age groups will be chosen: 1) 60 study participants younger than 10 years old and 2) 60 study participants aged 10 years and above. Clinical examination will be performed and conjunctival swabs will be taken from all the study participants. For study arm C and D, nasopharyngeal swabs will be collected from 10 randomly selected children among the 60 participants under 10 who were recruited for conjunctival swabbing. Then a single dose of azithromycin will be distributed according to study design: in tablet form for adults; a weight-adjusted tablet dose for children ages 8-10; and pediatric suspension for children ages 1 - 7.
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No Intervention: D Delayed initiation of mass administration of antibiotic |
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Other: F One-time mass administration only |
Drug: Mass treatment with oral azithromycin to an entire community
For baseline and follow-up surveys prior to azithromycin distribution, a stratified random sample from two age groups will be chosen: 1) 60 study participants younger than 10 years old and 2) 60 study participants aged 10 years and above. Clinical examination will be performed and conjunctival swabs will be taken from all the study participants. For study arm C and D, nasopharyngeal swabs will be collected from 10 randomly selected children among the 60 participants under 10 who were recruited for conjunctival swabbing. Then a single dose of azithromycin will be distributed according to study design: in tablet form for adults; a weight-adjusted tablet dose for children ages 8-10; and pediatric suspension for children ages 1 - 7.
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Experimental: G One-time mass administration of antibiotics, plus intensive latrine construction |
Drug: Mass treatment with oral azithromycin to an entire community
For baseline and follow-up surveys prior to azithromycin distribution, a stratified random sample from two age groups will be chosen: 1) 60 study participants younger than 10 years old and 2) 60 study participants aged 10 years and above. Clinical examination will be performed and conjunctival swabs will be taken from all the study participants. For study arm C and D, nasopharyngeal swabs will be collected from 10 randomly selected children among the 60 participants under 10 who were recruited for conjunctival swabbing. Then a single dose of azithromycin will be distributed according to study design: in tablet form for adults; a weight-adjusted tablet dose for children ages 8-10; and pediatric suspension for children ages 1 - 7.
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Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- The average prevalence of ocular chlamydia infection in communities in an arm as determined by pooled NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test)(at 42 months for Aim 1, at 12 months for Aim 2, post-treatment relative to pre-treatment for Aim 3) [42 months]
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Clinical active trachoma in community, as determined by the WHO simplified grading system [42 months]
- Childhood (>= 1 year of age) mortality, analyzed as 1-5, 6-10 years of age, and total [42 months]
- Macrolide resistance in pneumococcus (% resistance over time, clustered by randomization unit) [42 months]
- Average prevalence of ocular chlamydia infection in annually and biennially treated communities as determined by pooled NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) [48 months]
- Diversity measure in the conjunctival and nasopharyngeal microbiomes of children (age 0-9) [0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, and 48 months]
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
• All residents residing in the state-teams which are randomly selected for this study.
Exclusion Criteria:
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Pregnant women
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Children under 6 months of age
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All those who are allergic to macrolides or azalides
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Refusal of village chief (for village inclusion), or refusal of parent or guardian (for individual inclusion)
Individuals in these three exclusion criteria will not be given the study antibiotic azithromycin, but offered the current WHO-recommended alternative treatment to azithromycin for active trachoma, which is 1% tetracycline eye ointment, to be used twice a day, topically to both eyes, for six weeks. Note that the exclusion criteria refer to the exclusion to the treatment drug, but not to the monitoring, treatment of trachoma, and examinations.
Contacts and Locations
Locations
Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
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1 | Carter Center, Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- University of California, San Francisco
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Tom Lietman, MD, Proctor Foundation, UCSF
- Study Director: Kieran S O'Brien, MPH, Proctor Foundation, UCSF
- Study Director: Paul Emerson, PhD, Emory University
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
- Gebre T, Ayele B, Zerihun M, House JI, Stoller NE, Zhou Z, Ray KJ, Gaynor BD, Porco TC, Emerson PM, Lietman TM, Keenan JD. Latrine promotion for trachoma: assessment of mortality from a cluster-randomized trial in Ethiopia. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011 Sep;85(3):518-23. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0720.
- Keenan JD, Ayele B, Gebre T, Zerihun M, Zhou Z, House JI, Gaynor BD, Porco TC, Emerson PM, Lietman TM. Childhood mortality in a cohort treated with mass azithromycin for trachoma. Clin Infect Dis. 2011 Apr 1;52(7):883-8. doi: 10.1093/cid/cir069.
- Keenan JD, See CW, Moncada J, Ayele B, Gebre T, Stoller NE, McCulloch CE, Porco TC, Gaynor BD, Emerson PM, Schachter J, Lietman TM. Diagnostic characteristics of tests for ocular Chlamydia after mass azithromycin distributions. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012 Jan 25;53(1):235-40. doi: 10.1167/iovs.11-8493.
- Lietman TM, Gebre T, Ayele B, Ray KJ, Maher MC, See CW, Emerson PM, Porco TC; TANA Study Group. The epidemiological dynamics of infectious trachoma may facilitate elimination. Epidemics. 2011 Jun;3(2):119-24. doi: 10.1016/j.epidem.2011.03.004. Epub 2011 Apr 6.
- Porco TC, Gebre T, Ayele B, House J, Keenan J, Zhou Z, Hong KC, Stoller N, Ray KJ, Emerson P, Gaynor BD, Lietman TM. Effect of mass distribution of azithromycin for trachoma control on overall mortality in Ethiopian children: a randomized trial. JAMA. 2009 Sep 2;302(9):962-8. doi: 10.1001/jama.2009.1266.
- Skalet AH, Cevallos V, Ayele B, Gebre T, Zhou Z, Jorgensen JH, Zerihun M, Habte D, Assefa Y, Emerson PM, Gaynor BD, Porco TC, Lietman TM, Keenan JD. Antibiotic selection pressure and macrolide resistance in nasopharyngeal Streptococcus pneumoniae: a cluster-randomized clinical trial. PLoS Med. 2010 Dec 14;7(12):e1000377. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000377.
- Stoller NE, Gebre T, Ayele B, Zerihun M, Assefa Y, Habte D, Zhou Z, Porco TC, Keenan JD, House JI, Gaynor BD, Lietman TM, Emerson PM. Efficacy of latrine promotion on emergence of infection with ocular Chlamydia trachomatis after mass antibiotic treatment: a cluster-randomized trial. Int Health. 2011 Jun;3(2):75-84. doi: 10.1016/j.inhe.2011.03.004.
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