Prevalence of Active Trachoma and Associated Factors in Areka Town, South Ethiopia, 2018

BACKGROUND: Globally, 1.2 billion people live in trachoma endemic areas, 40.6 million people are suffering from active trachoma, and 48.5% of the global burden of active trachoma is distributed in five countries including Ethiopia. However, there is no evidence or no conducted survey/research data or document regarding trachoma prevalence in Areka Town. We, therefore, did a study to assess the prevalence of active trachoma and associated factors in Areka Town in South Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was employed. A total of 586 children aged 1–9 years were involved. We compiled a structured questionnaire from the relevant literature and pretested before use. A range of data was collected on the sociodemographic, facility, and service-related, and environmental factors. The outcome variable was measured by using frequencies, cross-tabulation, and percent. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to control potential confounders and to identify the predictors. RESULTS: This study revealed that 37.9% of children aged 1–9 years have active trachoma (95% CI: 34%–42%). Households without latrine (AOR = 6.88; 95% CI: 2.13–22.18), openly disposing domestically produced waste (AOR = 4.62; 95% CI: 2.41–8.83), cooking in the same room (AOR = 5.13; 95% CI: 2.21–11.88), and using the cooking room without a window (AOR = 2.28; 95% CI: 1.11–4.69) were more likely to have their children develop active trachoma. Similarly, children with caretakers having inadequate knowledge about trachoma (AOR = 8.10; 95% CI: 2.04–32.17) were more likely to develop active trachoma. However, households consuming more than 20 liters of water per day were 82% (AOR = 0.18; 95% CI: 0.07–0.44) less likely to have their children develop active trachoma while compared to those consuming less than the figure. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of active trachoma in the children aged 1–9 years in the study area was found to be high, and it is much higher than the WHO elimination threshold.