[Epidemiology of trachoma in the village of Araripe plateau--Ceará State].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the epidemiological factors of trachoma in the Simão village.

METHODS

Through a field research, 412 individuals (178 men and 234 women) were examined in a village of the Araripe plateau in Ceará State. The median age was 34 years for both genders. Traditional data from trachoma epidemiology were collected and diagnosis of trachoma was performed using binocular loupes of x 2.5.

RESULTS

304 (73.8%) individuals were normal and 108 (26.2%) were trachomatous (5 TF, 98 TS, 3 TT and 2 CO). Regarding socio-economic factors relating to individuals, the illiterate were 1.9 times more likely to have trachoma (p<0.0001), but the more affluent were more affected (p<0.0001). As for the face appearance, the disease was more prevalent in patients with dirty faces (p=0.432). A difference was noted in multivariate analysis of socio-economic factors relating to housing; only the variable number of people per room, which was higher in the normal group (p=0.010).

CONCLUSIONS

The good infrastructure found in the Simão village, especially the amount of houses with piped water and the good personal hygiene habits, favored the low findings of infectious forms.