Prevalence of Eye Diseases among Learners in Kafue District, Zambia

Objective: To determine the pattern and magnitude of eye diseases among the primary and secondary schools' learners in Kafue District in Zambia.Method: A cross-sectional survey of all 73 primary and secondary schools in Kafue.Results: A total of 18,713 enrolled in the study. The prevalence of eye diseases was 20.9% accounting for 17.0% allergic conjunctivitis followed by refractive 3.3%, and least was retinal disorder at 0.01%. Urban dwellers were affected more than their rural counterparts.Conclusion: The survey found a high prevalence of eye diseases among the  learners in Kafue District with allergic conjunctivitis being the most prevalent cause followed by significant refractive errors

Vision Screening of Learners by Teachers in Kafue District in Zambia as a Strategy to Address the Challenges of Childhood Blindness

Background: Early detection and treatment of eye diseases in children is critical in combating childhood blindness. Innovative community-based strategies such as training of teachers in vision screening need to be developed for effective utilisation of the available human resources as well as to counter the challenges of inequitable distribution of trained eye health human resourcesas well as the limited access of quality eye health care services to the majority of our population. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of using teachers as the first level of vision screeners.Materials and Methods: Teacher training programmes were conducted for schoolteachers to educate them about childhood eye diseases and the significance of their early detection. The teachers trained for the school vision screening were from all government, private and community schools located in Kafue District. The teachers then conducted vision screening of learners in their schools.Subsequently, the mobile eye health teams visited the schools for the re-evaluation of learners identified with poor vision. All learners identified with refractive errors had refraction performed on them and spectacles prescribed. The mobile eye health teams referred learners requiring a further ophthalmic evaluation to the University Teaching Hospitals – Eye Hospital which was the base hospital for the programme. The assessment included calculation of true positives, false positives, true negatives and false negatives.Results: One hundred and fifty-four (154) teachers from 73 primary and secondary schools underwent training in vision screening. The teachers screened 18,713 learners and reported eye diseases in 2,818 (15.1%) children. However, the mobile eye health teams examined 5,958 learners who included 2,818 referrals from teachers and 3,140 rescreened learners. The mobile eye health teams confirmed eye problems in 2,818 learners screened by the teachers and further diagnosed more eye problems in 999 learners giving a total of 3,817 learners with eye problems. Thus, the teachers were able to correctly identify eye problems (true positives) in 100.0% (2,818/2,818) of learners. The teachers could not identify eye problems in 999 learners giving false negatives were 26.2% (999/3,817).Conclusion: Considering the high true positive value and the comprehensive coverage provided by the survey, vision screening in schools by teachers is an effective method of identifying learners with eye problems and poor vision early. This strategy could be valuable in reducing the workload of the eye health care staff. Keywords: Vision screening, true positives, false negatives, screening, predictive value, childhood blindnes

Juvenile-onset Open-Angle Glaucoma at the University Teaching Hospitals - Eye Hospital, Lusaka Zambia

Purpose: To demonstrate the socioeconomic, demographic and clinical characteristics associated with patients of juvenile-onset open- angle glaucoma (JOAG) at the University Teaching Hospitals Eye Hospital (UTHs - EH).Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey for Juvenile Open Angle Glaucoma (JOAG) conducted at the UTHs - EH in, Lusaka, Zambia from January to December 2013. All participants aged between 18 and 39 years had a full ocular examination after capturing  demographic and socioeconomic information. The ocular examination included visual acuity, intraocular pressure (IOP) and cup disc ratio (CDR) and tests performed were central corneal thickness (CCT) and visual fields. Severity was graded based visual field (VF) in the worse eye using the advanced glaucoma intervention study score. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression, stratified by age group and gender, was used to determine the association between demographic factors and JOAG and between clinical factors and JOAG.Results: Of the 1625 patients recruited for the study, 309 were POAG patients. Of the 309 POAG patients, 140 aged 20 to 39 years old had bilateral JOAG. The distribution of the 140 participants was 98 (70.9%) females and 42 (29.4%) males. Thirteen (9.3 %) were aged 20 – 24 years, 29 (20.7%) 25 – 29 years, 44 (31.4%) 30 – 34 years, and 54 (38.6%) 35 – 39 years. The mean age of the patients was 25.1 ± SD 8.7 years. The prevalence of JOAG was 8.6% Keywords: Juvenile-onset open-angle glaucoma (JOAG), cup disc ratio (CDR), primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), visual field (VF),  intraocular pressure (IOP), family histor