Data Resource Profile: Global Trachoma Serology Data Repository

Trachoma, a neglected tropical disease, is caused by repeated infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) and is the most common infectious cause of blindness [1].Trachoma is targeted for global elimination as a public health problem by the year 2030; by 19 May 2025, 23 countries had been validated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem [2].Surveillance of trachoma has traditionally relied on measurement of the clinical signs trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) [3].Country health ministries are encouraged to share point prevalence data of TF and TT with the open-access Trachoma Atlas (https://www.trachomaatlas.org/)and, for countries in the WHO's Africa region, the ESPEN (Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases) portal (https://espen.afro.who.int/)[4].This is one example of trachoma prevalence data sharing.At low levels of transmission and after antibiotic mass drug administration, TF is an imperfect marker of Ct transmission.Serological testing-the detection of specific antibodies in blood-is an approach that is under consideration to monitor programmatic recrudescence (the return of active trachoma infection), including in post-validation surveillance.Serology is central to pathogen surveillance and the inference of infection history [5] and, in trachoma, monitoring transmission by incorporating dried blood samples into standard trachoma surveys has proven useful in supporting programs as populations approach elimination [6][7][8][9][10].We set out to map the trajectory of trachoma to elimination through the analysis of population-level antibody Key Features The Global Trachoma Serology Data Repository includes harmonized survey data with individual-level data on immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to Pgp3 and CT694 Chlamydia trachomatis antigens, created to support operational research on the use of serosurveillance for the trachoma elimination endgame. The repository is unique in its scale: >60 000 anonymized individual records collected from children (1-9 years old) in 48 surveys in 15 countries, between 2012 and 2023, and across a range of trachoma endemicity from high-transmission settings to post-elimination. Featured variables include age, year of survey, geography (country, region, and/or district), and whether or not antibiotic mass drug administration was done prior to the survey.Individual-level records are linked to their sampling cluster, which is fundamental for population-level analyses. The repository also contains accompanying data for clinical signs of trachoma and nucleic acid amplification test-based measures of ocular C. trachomatis infection, which, together with IgG measurements, enable a more comprehensive understanding of trachoma epidemiology.

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Publication Details

Journal
International Journal of Epidemiology
Published
2025-10-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyaf183
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Reproductive tract infections research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.37

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article

Data Resource Profile: Global Trachoma Serology Data Repository

Diana L. Martin, Catherine E. Oldenburg, Ahmed M. Arzika, Laura Senyonjo et al.
2 citations
International Journal of Epidemiology
Reproductive tract infections research
2.37
article

Data Resource Profile: Global Trachoma Serology Data Repository

Diana L. Martin, Catherine E. Oldenburg, Ahmed M. Arzika, Laura Senyonjo, Benjamin F. Arnold, Andrés G. Lescano, Pearl Anne Ante-Testard, Kristen Aiemjoy, Adisu Abebe Dawed, Sarjo Kanyi, Scott D. Nash, Fasihah Taleo, Michael Masika, Zeinab Abdalla, Emma Michele Harding-Esch, Eshetu Sata, Robert Ko, Mabula Kasubi, Amir Bedri Kello, E. Brook Goodhew, John M. Nesemann, Jaouad Hammou, Dorothy Yeboah‐Manu, CHRIS J. DRAKELEY, Kwamy Togbey, Kimberly Fornace, Rabebe Tekeraoi, Seth Blumberg, Timothy William, Benjamin Marfo, Dionna M. Wittberg, Fikre Seife, Katherine Gass, David Chaima, Ansumana Sillah, Marcel S Awoussi, Ramatou Maliki, Solomon Aragie, Oliver Sokana, Patrick J. Lammie, E. Kelly Callahan, Robert Butcher, Tàye Zeru, Anthony W. Solomon, Chrissy h. Roberts, Jeremy D. Keenan, Sarah Gwyn, Thomas M. Lietman, Belgesa E Elshafie, Stephanie J Migchelsen, Everlyn Kamau, Kristen K. Renneker, Nishanth Parameswaran, Robin L. Bailey, Martha Idalí Saboyá-Díaz, Sheila K. West, Beido Nassirou, Ariktha Srivathsan, Zerihun Tadesse, Prudence Rymil, Boubacar Kadri, PJ Hooper, Emma Michelle Taylor, Abdou Amza, Mohammed Youbi, Khumbo Kalua, Karana Wickens, Abou-Bakr Sidik Domingo, Willie Pomat, Harran Mkocha, Julianna Colado
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Trachoma, a neglected tropical disease, is caused by repeated infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) and is the most common infectious cause of blindness [1].Trachoma is targeted for global elimination as a public health problem by the year 2030; by 19 May 2025, 23 countries had been validated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem [2].Surveillance of trachoma has traditionally relied on measurement of the clinical signs trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) [3].Country health ministries are encouraged to share point prevalence data of TF and TT with the open-access Trachoma Atlas (https://www.trachomaatlas.org/)and, for countries in the WHO's Africa region, the ESPEN (Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases) portal (https://espen.afro.who.int/)[4].This is one example of trachoma prevalence data sharing.At low levels of transmission and after antibiotic mass drug administration, TF is an imperfect marker of Ct transmission.Serological testing-the detection of specific antibodies in blood-is an approach that is under consideration to monitor programmatic recrudescence (the return of active trachoma infection), including in post-validation surveillance.Serology is central to pathogen surveillance and the inference of infection history [5] and, in trachoma, monitoring transmission by incorporating dried blood samples into standard trachoma surveys has proven useful in supporting programs as populations approach elimination [6][7][8][9][10].We set out to map the trajectory of trachoma to elimination through the analysis of population-level antibody Key Features The Global Trachoma Serology Data Repository includes harmonized survey data with individual-level data on immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to Pgp3 and CT694 Chlamydia trachomatis antigens, created to support operational research on the use of serosurveillance for the trachoma elimination endgame. The repository is unique in its scale: >60 000 anonymized individual records collected from children (1-9 years old) in 48 surveys in 15 countries, between 2012 and 2023, and across a range of trachoma endemicity from high-transmission settings to post-elimination. Featured variables include age, year of survey, geography (country, region, and/or district), and whether or not antibiotic mass drug administration was done prior to the survey.Individual-level records are linked to their sampling cluster, which is fundamental for population-level analyses. The repository also contains accompanying data for clinical signs of trachoma and nucleic acid amplification test-based measures of ocular C. trachomatis infection, which, together with IgG measurements, enable a more comprehensive understanding of trachoma epidemiology.

International Journal of EpidemiologyVol. 54(6)
Carter Center (US), University of California, San Francisco (US), San Francisco Foundation (US), San Francisco Department of Public Health (US), Berkeley Public Health Division (US), Global Brain Health Institute (US), Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (US), University of California, Berkeley (US)
World Health Organization, Carter Center, Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, University of Ghana, Amhara Regional Health Bureau, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Reproductive tract infections research
2.37
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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