Sheila West Niger Bloomberg School of Public Health, MPH program
Trachoma is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world and disproportionately affects the young and the poor in the least developed countries worldwide. As part of the SAFE strategy, the World Health Organization recommends environmental improvements in trachoma endemic communities, such as improved access to water, to interrupt transmission of trachoma. However, few studies have documented the impact on trachoma of improved access to water and to health education around water use. The purpose of this study is to determine the two-year prevalence of trachoma and infection with C. trachomatis in villages randomized to a water & hygiene program compared to control villages in Maradi, Niger, and the change in prevalence from baseline levels. Villages were randomized to intervention and control, and baseline trachoma and infection rates were obtained from sentinel samples of children. The water and health education components have been implemented by our partner, World Vision, in the five villages randomized to intervention. In January, the final follow up survey in the sentinel children is planned. For this project, Ms Hariharan would assist in data collection for the final survey, and collect ancillary data on distance to water, use of improved water supplies, and face washing as explanatory variables for rates of trachoma and infection. | 
JHU advisor:
