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Pesky trachoma suspect finally caught.

K Miller¹, N Pakpour, E Yi

¹F I Proctor Foundation, University of California San Francisco, USA.

The British Journal of Ophthalmology

|May 19, 2004

Summary

Flies can transmit Chlamydia trachomatis, the bacteria causing trachoma. This study detected C. trachomatis DNA on flies collected from children's faces in Ethiopia, providing key evidence for flies as disease vectors.

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Area of Science:

Ophthalmology
Medical Entomology
Infectious Diseases

Background:

Trachoma, a leading cause of preventable blindness, is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis.
Flies, particularly face-seeking flies, are suspected vectors of trachoma but lack definitive proof.
Previous research has not consistently demonstrated C. trachomatis presence on flies.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of flies as vectors for Chlamydia trachomatis.
To fulfill the final criterion for implicating flies in trachoma transmission.
To detect C. trachomatis DNA on flies using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Main Methods:

Flies were collected from the faces of 103 children in Ethiopia using sticky paper.
Control samples of fly paper were collected from arbitrary areas.

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Roche Amplicor PCR kits were utilized to detect C. trachomatis DNA.

Main Results:

Chlamydia trachomatis DNA was detected on 15 out of 103 flies.
No C. trachomatis DNA was found on any of the 103 control samples.
The difference in detection rates between flies and controls was statistically significant (p = 0.0001).

Conclusions:

The study provides the first definitive evidence incriminating flies as vectors of trachoma.
Meeting this criterion supports the need for fly control strategies in trachoma prevention.
Further interventional studies are required to quantify the impact of fly control on trachoma transmission.