Prevalence and Factors Associated with Trachoma among Primary School Children in Harari Region, Eastern Ethiopia

Introduction: Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. It is more common in areas where people are socio-economically deprived. Although trachoma is endemic in 571 districts in Ethiopia, its prevalence has not been studied among school children in Harari Region.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of trachoma eye infection and factors associated with it among Grades 1-8 schoolchildren in Harari Region, from November 30, 2015 to April 29, 2016.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was done on 1722 students selected from four primary schools. Data were collected using WHO simplified trachoma grading scheme and analysed by SPSS Version 16. The factors influencing the outcome variable were identified via Logistic Regression, and predictors through Odds Ratio and the corresponding confidence intervals.

Results: The overall prevalence of trachoma was 1.3% (22/1722) in which 14 had Trachoma Follicular and 8 had both Trachoma Follicular and Trachoma Intense. Unclean face (AOR 3.4, CI 1.01-11.42), no maternal education (AOR 4.324, CI 1.189 to 15.729), family size of >5 (AOR 7.069, CI 2.248 to 22.228), families monthly income of less than 1000 Ethiopian Birr (AOR 5.71, CI 1.643 to 19.823), and solid waste collected by municipality (AOR 12.672, CI 1.289 to 124.57) were associated with trachoma eye infection.

Conclusion: Both Trachoma Follicular and Trachoma Intense are less prevalent among Grades 1-8 school children in Harari Regional State.