Background: Trachoma is a disease afflicting people of low socioeconomic status. While some countries have managed to eliminate it, it is still prevalent in the poorest areas, most of which are located in Africa. In Guinea, the National Programme to Combat Blindness and Onchocerciasis had conducted a survey in 10 districts out of the 31 health districts suspected of being endemic. The purpose of this study was to participate in the finalization of the mapping of trachoma in Guinea for a good planning of the SAFE (Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial Cleanliness and Environmental Hygiene) strategy allowing the elimination of this condition.

Methods: This was a single-pass cross-sectional survey, random sampling in clusters at two levels (villages and households), from 02 to 9 March 2017. We used the WHO simplified codification for the diagnosis of trachoma. The Kappa approval coefficient of 95% was achieved prior to the survey. All participants were informed and gave their verbal consent to participate in the study. Variables related to age, gender and environment were noted (availability of water and availability of latrines used) and analyzed. The "links system" of the Global Trachoma Mapping Project (GTMP) made it possible to develop the questionnaire, collect and delete the database on an Android platform. The data analysis was performed using epi-infos 6.0 software. The graphs were produced by Microsoft Excel 2007 software.

Results: The survey involved 2816 individuals including 1190 children aged 0 to 9 years and 1438 subjects aged 15 years and over. The prevalence of follicular trachoma (FT) was 3.36% in children aged 0 to 9 years and a female predominance with a sex ratio G/B = 1.85. The prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) was 0.2% in subjects 15 years of age and older and a female predominance with a sex ratio G/B = 2. Surface water use and the absence of latrine in households were the main determining factors with proportions of 65% and 57.5% of TF cases.

Conclusion: In this study the prevalence of active trachoma is below the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold of 5% and that of TT reaching just the threshold of 0.2%. The Health District of Lelouma is not eligible for mass treatment but targeted treatments of TT.