Loading...
Yaws, caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, causes disfiguring skin lesions and remains endemic in areas home to some 89 million. The World Health Organization's strategy to eliminate yaws includes mass azithromycin treatment followed by targeted treatment. Researchers now assess this strategy's long-term efficacy, extending follow-up from 12 to 42 months using clinical and serologic studies and T. pallidum-specific polymerase chain reaction testing.
On a Papua New Guinea island (population, about 16,000) azithromycin mass treatment reached 84% of residents and reduced prevalence of active yaws from 1.8% at baseline to 0.1% at 18 months. By month 30, prevalence of yaws lesions and positive serologic results began to increase. At …