Efficacy of Single-Dose Azithromycin for Ocular Chlamydial Infection: A Longitudinal Study

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2024 Mar 19;110(5):1010-1013. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0540. Print 2024 May 1.

Abstract

Millions of doses of azithromycin are distributed each year for trachoma, yet the treatment efficacy of a single dose of azithromycin for ocular Chlamydia infection has not been well characterized. In this study, four villages in Niger received a mass azithromycin distribution for trachoma. All 426 children aged 0-5 years residing in the study villages were offered conjunctival swabbing every 6 months to test for ocular Chlamydia trachomatis. Among the children infected with ocular Chlamydia before treatment, 6% (95% CI: 2-15%) tested positive for ocular Chlamydia infection 6 months later, and 15% (95% CI: 7-28%) tested positive 12 months later. The most important predictor of post-treatment ocular Chlamydia infection was pretreatment ocular Chlamydia infection (relative risk: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.3-9.4). Although the 6-monthly monitoring schedule was suboptimal for testing the treatment efficacy of an antibiotic, these findings are nonetheless consistent with high treatment efficacy of a single dose of azithromycin and suggest that additional interventions might be most effective if targeted to those children infected prior to treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / administration & dosage
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents* / therapeutic use
  • Azithromycin* / administration & dosage
  • Azithromycin* / therapeutic use
  • Child, Preschool
  • Chlamydia Infections / drug therapy
  • Chlamydia trachomatis* / drug effects
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Niger
  • Trachoma* / drug therapy
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Azithromycin
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents