title: Trachoma and flies. Individual vs environmental risk factors.
abstract: The risk of active trachoma in children appears to be higher in association with flies in the environment. However, a measure of fly density that could consistently be related to an increased risk of trachoma is unknown. In a survey of six villages in a hyperendemic area of Tanzania, a comparison was made between the number of flies on the faces (face-fly scores) of children and the number of household flies around the main doorways (household-fly scores). The risk of trachoma associated with each measure was evaluated after adjusting for the age and sex of the child. A multiple logistic regression model demonstrated that the presence of flies on the face was consistently associated with increased risk of trachoma, and that number of flies on the face is a superior predictor in terms of ease of measurement and strength of association than is number of household flies.
authors.affiliation: Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Md. 21205.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Brechner
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004175:Diptera; D004199:Disease Vectors; D004777:Environment; D005145:Face; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D014141:Trachoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission