scholarly journals Elimination ofOnchocerca volvulusTransmission in the Huehuetenango Focus of Guatemala

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Cruz-Ortiz ◽  
Rodrigo J. Gonzalez ◽  
Kim A. Lindblade ◽  
Frank O. Richards ◽  
Mauricio Sauerbrey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Segment ◽  
Onchocerca Volvulus ◽  
World Health ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Mass Treatment ◽  
Eligible Population ◽  
Transmission Interruption ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Transmission Status

In Latin America, onchocerciasis is targeted for elimination by 2012 through twice-yearly mass treatment of the eligible population with ivermectin. In Guatemala, two of the four historical endemic foci have demonstrated elimination of transmission, following World Health Organization guidelines. Using established guidelines ophthalmological, serological, and entomological evaluations were conducted in 2007-8 to determine the transmission status of onchocerciasis in the Huehuetenango focus. The prevalence ofOnchocerca volvulusmicrofilariae in the anterior segment of the eye in 365 residents was 0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0–0.8%), the prevalence of infection ofO. volvulusinSimulium ochraceumamong 8252 flies collected between November 2007 and April 2008 was 0% (95% CI 0–0.02%), and the prevalence of antibodies to a recombinantO. volvulusantigen in 3118 school age children was 0% (95% CI 0–0.1%). These results showed transmission interruption; thus, in 2009 mass treatment was halted and posttreatment surveillance began. To verify for potential recrudescence an entomological evaluation (from December 2010 to April 2011) was conducted during the 2nd and 3rd year of posttreatment surveillance. A total of 4587S. ochraceumwere collected, and the prevalence of infection ofO. volvuluswas 0% (95% CI 0–0.04%). Transmission of onchocerciasis in the Huehuetenango focus has been eliminated.

scholarly journals Physical development of children in St. Petersburg: to the discussion about methods of evaluation

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-36
Author(s):  
Vera L. Gritsinskaya ◽  
Valeria P. Novikova
Keyword(s):  
Essential Feature ◽  
The Body ◽  
International Standards ◽  
World Health ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Growth Spurt ◽  
School Age ◽  
Modern School ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Growth Assessment

Anthropometric evaluation is an essential feature of pediatric evaluation. Different countries use different approaches in pediatric growth assessment. The article presents a comparative analysis of the body length (BL) indicators of modern school-age children in St. Petersburg with regional standards (1991) and international standards (WHO Growth Reference 2007). Anthropometric evaluation was conducted among 6207 children aged 7 to 17 years; the median, standard deviation and centile distribution of the BL values of school-age children were determined. We found that the values of BL of modern school-age children are higher than that their peers had thirty years ago; in boys, the maximum difference is found during the pubertal growth spurt; Non-parametric and parametric indicators of BL in senior pupils of St. Petersburg are higher than in the standards of the World Health Organization; in junior schoolchildren no difference was found. The data we obtained create the prerequisites for the development of modern regional standards for growth assessment of children and school-age children in St. Petersburg and their practical use for pediatric examinations.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Refractive Error Among Early Primary School Age Children in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area, Nigeria.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Obumneke Ogbonna
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Refractive Error ◽  
World Health ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
The World ◽  
Visual Screening ◽  
Early Primary ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Primary School Age

Abstract Introduction Refractive error is one of the major causes of blurred vision. It is a common eye disorder even in children. The World Health Organization had estimated refractive error to cause visual impairment to about 153 million people around the world with over 1.4 million children affected. Eighty percent (80%) of whom live in developing countries. The right to sight, a global initiative launched by World Health Organization, has the main aim of eliminating avoidable visual impairment and blindness at a global level. In order to achieve this goal, visual screening in pre-school and school children has long been a tradition in developed nations of the world. The significance of this cannot be overemphasized, especially with the already established correlation between school performance and visual status. However, in developing countries visual screening for children is not yet well established, thereby leaving many children with undetected refractive error, which could result in visual impairment. This study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence of refractive error among early primary school age children at Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area(LGA) in Ogun State, Nigeria. Methodology: The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. It employed a multi-staged sampling method to recruit 205 pupils aged 5-9 years attending schools in Ado-Odo Ota as study participants to determine the prevalence of refractive error among the pupils attending primary schools in this area. Following ocular pathology screening for the children, subjects found fit were refracted both objectively and subjectively using auto-refractor and trial lenses respectively. Result: A prevalence of 30.73% of refractive error was recorded. Myopia had the highest prevalence (24.88%), followed by astigmatism 3.42% and hyperopia with the least prevalence of 2.44%. Older children had higher frequencies of refractive error than the younger ones with the males having more refractive error than the females (19.51% and 11.22%) respectively. Conclusion: The study concluded that refractive error is significantly present among this population and recommended that parents should ensure that their children are screened for refractive error, and that government should introduce school health programs to curb the growing menace of visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive error.

scholarly journals Associations between infection intensity categories and morbidity prevalence in school-age children are much stronger for Schistosoma haematobium than for S. mansoni

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. e0009444
Author(s):  
Ryan E. Wiegand ◽  
W. Evan Secor ◽  
Fiona M. Fleming ◽  
Michael D. French ◽  
Charles H. King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ultrasound Image ◽  
Infection Intensity ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Current Status ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Urogenital Schistosomiasis

Background World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for measuring global progress in schistosomiasis control classify individuals with Schistosoma spp. infections based on the concentration of excreted eggs. We assessed the associations between WHO infection intensity categories and morbidity prevalence for selected S. haematobium and S. mansoni morbidities in school-age children. Methodology A total of 22,488 children aged 6–15 years from monitoring and evaluation cohorts in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia from 2003–2008 were analyzed using Bayesian logistic regression. Models were utilized to evaluate associations between intensity categories and the prevalence of any urinary bladder lesion, any upper urinary tract lesion, microhematuria, and pain while urinating (for S. haematobium) and irregular hepatic ultrasound image pattern (C-F), enlarged portal vein, laboratory-confirmed diarrhea, and self-reported diarrhea (for S. mansoni) across participants with infection and morbidity data. Principal findings S. haematobium infection intensity categories possessed consistent morbidity prevalence across surveys for multiple morbidities and participants with light infections had elevated morbidity levels, compared to negative participants. Conversely, S. mansoni infection intensity categories lacked association with prevalence of the morbidity measures assessed. Conclusions/significance Current status infection intensity categories for S. haematobium were associated with morbidity levels in school-age children, suggesting urogenital schistosomiasis morbidity can be predicted by an individual’s intensity category. Conversely, S. mansoni infection intensity categories were not consistently indicative of childhood morbidity at baseline or during the first two years of a preventive chemotherapy control program.

scholarly journals Praziquantel treatment coverage among school age children against Schistosomiasis and associated factors in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional survey, 2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yilma Chisha ◽  
Zerihun Zerdo ◽  
Mekuria Asnakew ◽  
Chuchu Churko ◽  
Manaye Yihune ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Approach ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Integrated Treatment ◽  
School Enrollment ◽  
World Health ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Treatment Coverage

Abstract Background World Health Organization estimated that 779 million people are at risk of getting schistosomiasis (SCH) and 240 million people were infected worldwide. SCH due to Schistosoma mansoni (S. mansoni) is a wide public health problem in Ethiopia. The aim of the survey was to quantify national and district disaggregated treatment coverage status for SCH and compare validated coverage with the one reported. Methods Community based cross-sectional survey was conducted in April 2019 among households with school age children (SAC) 5–14 years in seven purposively selected districts of the country. Segments to be surveyed were randomly selected and households to be interviewed from each segment were determined using systematic sampling technique. A total of 3378 households visited and 5679 SAC (5–14 years) were interviewed. Results Overall reported treatment coverage of Praziquantel (PZQ) against SCH was 4286 (75.5%). Males were 27% more likely to swallow the drug (AOR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.47) than females. SAC with age 10–14 years were 45% more likely to swallow the drug compared with their counter parts (5–9 years), (AOR =1.45; 95% CI: 1.25, 1.69). There is statistically significant association between PZQ swallowing status with school enrollment. (AOR = 20.90, 95% CI: 17.41, 25.08). Swallowing status of PZQ against SCH significantly higher for SAC treated in districts applied integrated treatment approach (87.5%) compared with SAC treated in vertical treatment approach (72.5%); P-value < 0.001. SACs were asked for reasons for not taking the drug and the main reported reason for not swallowing PZQ in the present study was none attending of the school. Conclusions Over all treatment coverage of PZQ against SCH in the present study was 75.5%. Although it is in accordance with WHO recommendation for Ethiopia, national programmatic improvements are necessary to achieve higher coverage in the future. To increase treatment coverage for PZQ against SCH in Ethiopia, school based training should target all schools. Moreover, mobilization, sensitization and implementation of the community wide treatment need to be improved.

Nutritional Status Among School-Age Children of Bangladeshi Tea Garden Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-429
Author(s):  
Mohd Shamim Iqbal ◽  
Amanda C. Palmer ◽  
Jillian Waid ◽  
S. M. Mustafizur Rahman ◽  
Md. M. Islam Bulbul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Underserved Populations ◽  
World Health ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
The Past ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Plasma Retinol

Background: While considerable progress has been made in reducing undernutrition in Bangladesh, regional disparities are known to exist, and certain population subgroups may lag behind. Objective: To characterize nutritional status among school-age children in a historically marginalized population of Bangladesh. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of children attending 14 nongovernmental organization-operated schools serving the tea estate population in Kulaura Upazila, Sylhet Division. We randomly selected 168 children from a population of 418 whose parents attended school-organized Parent–Teacher Association meetings. Parents provided consent and data on household food consumption in the past week, foods consumed by children in the past 24 hours, and household food insecurity. We drew venous blood from assenting children for the analysis of hemoglobin and plasma retinol, C-reactive protein, and α1-acid glycoprotein. Children were classified as stunted, underweight, or thin based on comparisons with the World Health Organization standards for height-for-age, weight-for-age, or body mass index-for-age, respectively. Results: Food insecurity was highly prevalent, with ∼85% of households affected. Roughly half of children had low dietary diversity. Prevalence estimates for stunting, underweight, and thinness were 32%, 50%, and 49%, respectively. Approximately 60% of children had a hemoglobin concentration <11 g/dL. The mean (±SD) plasma retinol concentration was 0.79 μmol/L (±0.23 μmol/L), with 34% deficient using a 0.70 μmol/L cutoff. Conclusions: A heightened focus on tracking progress in underserved populations and appropriately targeted programming will be critical as Bangladesh seeks to accelerate progress toward global development goals for nutrition.

scholarly journals A community survey of coverage and adverse events following country-wide triple-drug mass drug administration for lymphatic filariasis elimination, Samoa 2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. e0008854
Author(s):  
Gabriela A. Willis ◽  
Helen J. Mayfield ◽  
Therese Kearns ◽  
Take Naseri ◽  
Robert Thomsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Events ◽  
Lymphatic Filariasis ◽  
Drug Administration ◽  
Mass Drug Administration ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Community Survey ◽  
World Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Eligible Population ◽  
Health Organization

The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis has made considerable progress but is experiencing challenges in meeting targets in some countries. Recent World Health Organization guidelines have recommended two rounds of triple-drug therapy with ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine (DEC), and albendazole (IDA), in areas where mass drug administration (MDA) results with two drugs (DEC and albendazole) have been suboptimal, as is the case in Samoa. In August 2018, Samoa was the first country in the world to implement countrywide triple-drug MDA. This paper aims to describe Samoa’s experience with program coverage and adverse events (AEs) in the first round of triple-drug MDA. We conducted a large cross-sectional community survey to assess MDA awareness, reach, compliance, coverage and AEs in September/October 2018, 7–11 weeks after the first round of triple-drug MDA. In our sample of 4420 people aged ≥2 years (2.2% of the population), age-adjusted estimates indicated that 89.0% of the eligible population were offered MDA, 83.9% of the eligible population took MDA (program coverage), and 80.2% of the total population took MDA (epidemiological coverage). Overall, 83.8% (2986/3563) reported that they did not feel unwell at all after taking MDA. Mild AEs (feeling unwell but able to do normal everyday things) were reported by 13.3% (476/3563) and moderate or severe AEs (feeling unwell and being unable to do normal everyday activities such as going to work or school) by 2.9% (103/3563) of participants. This study following the 2018 triple-drug MDA in Samoa demonstrated a high reported program awareness and reach of 90.8% and 89.0%, respectively. Age-adjusted program coverage of 83.9% of the total population showed that MDA was well accepted and well tolerated by the community.

SCHOOL VIOLENCE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS IN SERBIA

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 855-859
Author(s):  
Vesna Lj. Minić
Keyword(s):  
School Violence ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
World Health ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
School Age ◽  
Peer Violence

The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review and analysis of school violence in Serbia, as well as to suggest programs and measures that would prevent it from happening. Violent behavior in school-age children is a widespread phenomenon and issue, present not only in our country, but also in other countries and cultures; it is on the rise in both developed and underdeveloped countries, in both urban and rural areas. Age groups most prone to violent behavior are children and young people in the process of maturation, since they do not yet have developed defense mechanisms. Given the fact that there are increased levels of peer violence in modern society, it is important to emphasize its serious, far-reaching and long-lasting both physical and mental health consequences, mostly in primary school children. School violence has also become a public health issue being addressed by the World Health Organization, as it causes chronic fear in students and is responsible for numerous psychosomatic disorders. Social context of violence is also incited by media, especially the Internet, television and video games which encourage and spread certain forms of violence among students. There are different forms and levels of intensity of school violence, but violence is usually acknowledged by the society only when certain incidents get the attention in media. However, in order to put a stop to the increased tendencies of peer violence in school-age children, it is necessary to engage students, teachers, parents, media and the entire society. Due to the complexity and sensitivity of this issue, the studies carried out in Serbia are of great importance, not only to understand this issue, but also to develop prevention programs and measures that would reduce and prevent school violence. There are three categories of prevention used in our country to prevent school violence: primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary prevention is targeted at the entire population, not only certain groups which are considered to be prone to it. Its advantage lies in the fact that it motivates the children who are not prone to violence to help reduce violence occurrences. Secondary prevention involves working with children who are prone to school violence, or with those children involved in mild forms of problem behavior. Tertiary prevention involves working with students who had already exhibited some form of school violence. Serbia has many school violence prevention programs, such as: School without violence: towards a safe and enabling environment for children; Children and Police; Firefighter in School, School Officer, and many other activities which aim to protect children from violence in schools.

scholarly journals Elimination or Resurgence: Modelling Lymphatic Filariasis After Reaching the 1% Microfilaremia Prevalence Threshold

2019 ◽  
Vol 221 (Supplement_5) ◽  
pp. S503-S509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquin M Prada ◽  
Emma L Davis ◽  
Panayiota Touloupou ◽  
Wilma A Stolk ◽  
Periklis Kontoroupis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lymphatic Filariasis ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mass Treatment ◽  
Surveillance Period ◽  
Current Prevalence ◽  
Sustained Success ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Low Prevalence

Abstract The low prevalence levels associated with lymphatic filariasis elimination pose a challenge for effective disease surveillance. As more countries achieve the World Health Organization criteria for halting mass treatment and move on to surveillance, there is increasing reliance on the utility of transmission assessment surveys (TAS) to measure success. However, the long-term disease outcomes after passing TAS are largely untested. Using 3 well-established mathematical models, we show that low-level prevalence can be maintained for a long period after halting mass treatment and that true elimination (0% prevalence) is usually slow to achieve. The risk of resurgence after achieving current targets is low and is hard to predict using just current prevalence. Although resurgence is often quick (&lt;5 years), it can still occur outside of the currently recommended postintervention surveillance period of 4–6 years. Our results highlight the need for ongoing and enhanced postintervention monitoring, beyond the scope of TAS, to ensure sustained success.

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