Leveraging Core Groups to Eliminate Infectious Trachoma

Thomas Lietman of the University of California, San Francisco in the U.S. will use mathematical models and cross-sectional survey data to determine the minimum number of people in a community who need to be treated for trachoma in order to halt transmission of the disease. Determining this core group can eliminate the need for mass antibiotic distribution, which results drug resistance in communities severely affected by this disease that is the leading cause of blindness.