scholarly journals Intestinal schistosomiasis in Uganda at high altitude (>1400 m): malacological and epidemiological surveys on Mount Elgon and in Fort Portal crater lakes reveal extra preventive chemotherapy needs

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle C. Stanton ◽  
Moses Adriko ◽  
Moses Arinaitwe ◽  
Alison Howell ◽  
Juliet Davies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Crater Lakes ◽  
Intestinal Schistosomiasis ◽  
Epidemiological Surveys ◽  
Mount Elgon

scholarly journals Malaria patterns across altitudinal zones of Mount Elgon following intensified control and prevention programs in Uganda

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siya Aggrey ◽  
Egeru Anthony ◽  
Kalule Bosco John ◽  
Lukwa Tafadzwa Akim ◽  
Ssentongo Benard
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Arima Model ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Trend Test ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Mount Elgon

Abstract Background Malaria remains a major tropical vector-borne disease of immense public health concern owing to its debilitating effects in sub-Saharan Africa. In the recent past, the high altitude areas in Eastern Africa have been reported to experience dramatic cases of malaria. However, its patterns following intensified control and prevention interventions remains and the changing climate remains widely unexplored in these regions. This study thus analyzed malaria patterns across altitudinal zones of Mount Elgon, Uganda. Methods Times-series data on malaria cases (2011 - 2017) from five level III local health centers occurring across three altitudinal zones; low, mid and high altitude was utilized. Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation regression and Mann Kendall trend test were used to analyze malaria patterns. Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model was used to project malaria patterns for a seven year period. Results On average, 66±69/1000 individuals suffered from malaria on a monthly basis. This was most pronounced in the months of May-August 89±88/1000 compared to the months of November-February (40±33/1000). Malaria patterns varied with season and altitude and declined over time across the three altitudinal zones. Observed cases, revealed an annual average of 587±750/1000; 345±321/1000 and 338±351/1000 cases in lower, mid and high altitudes respectively. Conclusions Despite observed decline in malaria cases across the three altitudinal zones, the high altitude zone became a malaria hotspot as cases variably occurred in the zone. The projections of malaria revealed declining patterns of malaria cases in all the altitudinal zones. Malaria control interventions thus ought to be strengthened and strategically designed to achieve no malaria cases across all the altitudinal zones. Integration of climate information within malaria interventions can also strengthen eradication strategies of malaria in such differentiated altitudinal zones.

scholarly journals Schistosomiasis and Associated Risk Factors Among School-Aged Children in Northern Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-111
Author(s):  
Musa M. Dogara ◽  
Saadatu Ahmad ◽  
Babalola J. Balogun ◽  
Salwa S. Dawaki ◽  
Muzammil B. Mustapha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Creative Commons ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Intestinal Schistosomiasis ◽  
Associated Risk Factors

Background: The Jigawa State Ministry of Health in Northern Nigeria undertook a pilot intervention without a follow-up to control schistosomiasis through preventive chemotherapy by ensuring that each child swallows praziquantel from 2009 to 2013 in five primary schools in Dutse metropolis. Previously, the overall prevalence for urinary and intestinal schistosomiasis determined using Sedimentation and Kato Katz methods was 22.9%. Methods: A cross sectional study involving 150 randomly selected pupils, aged 6 - 15 years old was conducted using sedimentation and Kato-Katz methods to determine the prevalence of urinary and intestinal schistosomiasis respectively in three schools in July, 2018. Information on demographic and associated risk factors was collected using a structured questionnaire and the data generated was analyzed using SPSS statistics version 18.0. Results: The overall prevalence was 10% with S. haematobium 8%, S. mansoni 2.67% and co-infection 0.67%. Males had higher prevalence, 15.10% than females 1.75%. The 11 - 15 years age group had higher prevalence, 10.10% than 6 - 10 years, 9.68%. Nearly all the infections occurred among class 4-6 pupils with 12.10% and 2.94% in 1-3. Based on parental occupations, children of unskilled laborer had the highest prevalence of 16.67% followed by children of civil servants 12.50%, and children of butchers 0%. Kachi School had the highest prevalence of 14.00% while Sir Muhammadu Sunusi had the lowest 4.00%. Schistosomiasis prevalence was found only to be significantly associated with gender; higher among males than females (15.1% vs 1.75%, P = 0.011). Conclusion and Implications for Translation: Schistosomiasis is still endemic among school-aged children in Dutse metropolis, but with a drop in overall prevalence from 22.9% to 10.00%. Chemotherapy and health education should be sustained on both in and out of school-aged children in order to control the transmission. Key words: • Schistosomiasis • Tropical diseases • Northern Nigeria • Chemotherapy• School-aged Children • Kato - Katz • Sedimentation   Copyright © 2020 Dogara et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.

scholarly journals Epidemiology of soil-transmitted helminths following sustained implementation of routine preventive chemotherapy: demographics and baseline results of a cluster randomised trial in southern Malawi

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Witek-McManus ◽  
James Simwanza ◽  
Alvin B. Chisambi ◽  
Stella Kepha ◽  
Zachariah Kamwendo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Cluster Randomised Trial ◽  
Childbearing Age ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Soil Transmitted Helminths ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Epidemiological Surveys ◽  
Low Levels

1.ABSTRACTMalawi has successfully leveraged multiple delivery platforms to scale-up and sustain the implementation of preventive chemotherapy (PCT) for the control of morbidity caused by soil-transmitted helminths (STH). Sentinel monitoring demonstrates this strategy has been successful in reducing STH infection in school-age children, although our understanding of the contemporary epidemiological profile of STH across the broader community remains limited. As part of a multi-site trial evaluating the feasibility of interrupting STH transmission across three countries, this survey aimed to describe the baseline demographics and the prevalence, intensity and associated risk factors of STH infection in Mangochi district, southern Malawi. Between October-December 2017, a household census was conducted across the catchment area of seven primary healthcare facilities, enumerating 131,074 individuals across 124 villages. A cross-sectional survey was then conducted between March-May 2018 in the enumerated area as a baseline for a cluster randomised trial. An age-stratified random sample of 6,102 individuals were assessed for helminthiasis by Kato-Katz and completed a detailed risk-factor questionnaire. The age-cluster weighted prevalence of any STH infection was 7.8% (95% C.I. 7.0%-8.6%) comprised predominantly of hookworm species and of entirely low-intensity infections. The presence and intensity of infection was significantly higher in men and in adults. Infection was negatively associated with risk factors that included increasing levels of relative household wealth, higher education levels of any adult household member, current school attendance, or recent deworming. In this setting of relatively high coverage of sanitation facilities, there was no association between hookworm and reported access to sanitation, handwashing facilities, or water facilities. These results describe a setting that has reduced the prevalence of STH to a very low level and confirms many previously recognised risk-factors for infection. Expanding the delivery of anthelmintics to groups where STH infection persist could enable Malawi to move past the objective of elimination of morbidity, and towards the elimination of STH.2.AUTHOR SUMMARYThe major public health strategy to control soil-transmitted helminths (STH) is preventive chemotherapy, whereby those at greatest risk of morbidity – children and women of childbearing age - are presumptively treated with a safe, effective and inexpensive anthelminthic drug. In Malawi, this has been successfully sustained for nearly a decade through annual school-based deworming, in addition to integration within child health campaigns and routine antenatal care. Routine surveillance of schoolchildren demonstrates that STH has been reduced to very low levels in this age group, but few community-based epidemiological surveys have been conducted to investigate STH in the broader population. In this survey, we observed that while infection with STH has been reduced to low levels overall, it is much higher in adults and particularly in males, with the odds of being infected greater in those from less wealthy households or from households with lower levels of adult education. These results underline that while preventive chemotherapy has likely been key to reductions in STH; sub-populations not routinely targeted by preventive chemotherapy, and the most disadvantaged members of society, continue to be disproportionately affected. We propose that evaluation of more comprehensive control strategies – such as entire-community deworming – could overcome these limitations, and present a route to STH elimination.

scholarly journals Prospects for the elimination of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis: exploring disease trends through time at the Barombi crater lakes, South-West Cameroon

Parasitology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 145 (13) ◽  
pp. 1700-1714 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Tchuem Tchuenté ◽  
D. R. Eloundou Ombede ◽  
C. Dongmo Noumedem ◽  
G. N. Djomkam Chuinteu ◽  
B. Fesuh Nono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Control ◽  
Environmental Surveillance ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Crater Lakes ◽  
Infection Dynamics ◽  
Volcanic Crater Lake ◽  
Morbidity Control ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis

AbstractIn Cameroon, there is a national programme engaged in the control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis. In certain locations, the programme is transitioning from morbidity control towards local interruption of parasite transmission. The volcanic crater lake villages of Barombi Mbo and Barombi Kotto are well-known transmission foci and are excellent context-specific locations to assess appropriate disease control interventions. Most recently they have served as exemplars of expanded access to deworming medications and increased environmental surveillance. In this paper, we review infection dynamics through time, beginning with data from 1953, and comment on the short- and long-term success of disease control. We show how intensification of local control is needed to push towards elimination and that further environmental surveillance, with targeted snail control, is needed to consolidate gains in preventive chemotherapy as well as empower local communities to take ownership of interventions.

scholarly journals An outbreak of intestinal schistosomiasis in primary school children living along the shoreline of Lake Malawi, Mangochi District, Malawi

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sekeleghe Kayuni ◽  
Angus M. O’Ferrall ◽  
Hamish Baxter ◽  
Josie Hesketh ◽  
Bright Mainga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Lake Malawi ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Urogenital Schistosomiasis ◽  
Rapid Mapping ◽  
Intestinal Schistosomiasis

Abstract Background: Intestinal schistosomiasis was not considered endemic in Lake Malawi until November 2017 when populations of Biomphalaria pfeifferi were first reported; in May 2018, emergence of intestinal schistosomiasis was confirmed subsequently. This emergence was in spite of ongoing urogenital schistosomiasis control by preventive chemotherapy. In our current investigation, we ascertain if intestinal schistosomiasis is transitioning from emergence to outbreak, to judge whether stepped-up control interventions are needed.Methods: During May 2019, three cross-sectional surveys of primary school children for schistosomiasis were conducted using a combination of rapid diagnostic tests, parasitological examinations and applied morbidity-markers; 1) schistosomiasis dynamics were assessed at Samama (n=80) and Mchoka (n=80) schools, where Schistosoma mansoni was first reported, 2) occurrence of S. mansoni was investigated at two non-sampled schools, MOET (Mangochi Orphan Education and Training) (n=60) and Koche (n=60) schools, where B. pfeifferi was nearby, and 3) rapid mapping of schistosomiasis, and B. pfeifferi, conducted across a further 8 shoreline schools (n=240). Results: In total, 520 children from 12 lakeshore primary schools were examined, mean prevalence of S. mansoni by urine CCA-dipsticks was 31.5% [95% CI 27.5 – 35.5], with clear associations with faecal occult blood and ova-patent intestinal schistosomiasis. Infection prevalence significantly increased at Samama (RR=1.7 [95% CI 1.4 – 2.2]) and Mchoka (RR= 2.7 [95% CI 1.7 – 4.3]) schools, was confirmed at MOET (18.3%) and Koche (35.0%) schools, and across rapid mapping schools ranged from 10.0% to 56.7%. Several populations of B. pfeifferi were confirmed, with two new locations on the eastern shoreline encountered. Mean prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis was 24.0% [95% CI 20.3 – 27.7]. Conclusions: When taken as a whole, we notify that intestinal schistosomiasis, once considered non-endemic in Lake Malawi, is now transitioning from emergence to outbreak. We recommend stepped-up preventive chemotherapy, with increased community-access to treatments, alongside renewed efforts in appropriate environmental control.

scholarly journals Schistosomiasis transmission at high altitude crater lakes in Western Uganda

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubaihayo John ◽  
Moghusu Ezekiel ◽  
Clouds Philbert ◽  
Abaasa Andrew
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Crater Lakes ◽  
Western Uganda

Field survey for strongyloidiasis in eastern Uganda with observations on efficacy of preventive chemotherapy and co-occurrence of soil-transmitted helminthiasis/intestinal schistosomiasis

2010 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Sousa-Figueiredo ◽  
M. Day ◽  
M. Betson ◽  
C. Rowell ◽  
A. Wamboko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agar Plate ◽  
Strongyloides Stercoralis ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Screening Tools ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Geographical Patterns ◽  
Intestinal Schistosomiasis ◽  
Eastern Uganda

AbstractFollowing our previous field surveys for strongyloidiasis in western Uganda, 120 mothers and 232 children from four villages in eastern Uganda were examined, with two subsequent investigative follow-ups. As before, a variety of diagnostic methods were used: Baermann concentration, Koga agar plate and strongyloidid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), as well as Kato–Katz faecal smears for detection of eggs of other helminths. At baseline, the general prevalence ofStrongyloides stercoraliswas moderate: 5.4% as estimated by Baermann and Koga agar methods combined. A much higher estimate was found by ELISA (42.3%) which, in this eastern setting, appeared to be confounded by putative cross-reaction(s) with other nematode infections. Preventive chemotherapy using praziquantel and albendazole was offered to all participants at baseline. After 21 days the first follow-up was conducted and ‘cure rates’ were calculated for all parasites encountered. Eleven months later, the second follow-up assessed longer-term trends. Initial treatments had little, if any, effect onS. stercoralis,and did not alter local prevalence, unlike hookworm infections and intestinal schistosomiasis. We propose that geographical patterns of strongyloidiasis are likely not perturbed by ongoing praziquantel/albendazole campaigns. Antibody titres increased after the first follow-up then regressed towards baseline levels upon second inspection. To better define endemic areas forS. stercoralis, careful interpretation of the ELISA is warranted, especially where diagnosis is likely being confounded by polyparasitism and/or other treatment regimens; new molecular screening tools are clearly needed.

scholarly journals An outbreak of intestinal schistosomiasis, alongside increasing urogenital schistosomiasis prevalence, in primary school children on the shoreline of Lake Malawi, Mangochi District, Malawi

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sekeleghe Kayuni ◽  
Angus M. O’Ferrall ◽  
Hamish Baxter ◽  
Josie Hesketh ◽  
Bright Mainga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Lake Malawi ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Preventive Chemotherapy ◽  
Urogenital Schistosomiasis ◽  
Rapid Mapping ◽  
Intestinal Schistosomiasis

Abstract Background: Intestinal schistosomiasis was not considered endemic in Lake Malawi until November 2017 when populations of Biomphalaria pfeifferi were first reported; in May 2018, emergence of intestinal schistosomiasis was confirmed. This emergence was in spite of ongoing control of urogenital schistosomiasis by preventive chemotherapy. Our current study sought to ascertain whether intestinal schistosomiasis is transitioning from emergence to outbreak, to judge if stepped-up control interventions are needed.Methods: During late-May 2019, three cross-sectional surveys of primary school children for schistosomiasis were conducted using a combination of rapid diagnostic tests, parasitological examinations and applied morbidity-markers; 1) schistosomiasis dynamics were assessed at Samama (n=80) and Mchoka (n=80) schools, where Schistosoma mansoni was first reported, 2) occurrence of S. mansoni was investigated at two non-sampled schools, MOET (Mangochi Orphan Education and Training) (n=60) and Koche (n=60) schools, where B. pfeifferi was nearby, and 3) rapid mapping of schistosomiasis, and B. pfeifferi, conducted across a further 8 shoreline schools (n=240). Results: In total, 520 children from 12 lakeshore primary schools were examined, mean prevalence of S. mansoni by ‘positive’ urine CCA-dipsticks was 31.5% [95% CI 27.5 – 35.5]. Upon comparisons of infection prevalence in May 2018, significant increases at Samama (RR=1.7 [95% CI 1.4 – 2.2]) and Mchoka (RR= 2.7 [95% CI 1.7 – 4.3]) schools were observed. Intestinal schistosomiasis was confirmed at MOET (18.3%) and Koche (35.0%) schools, and in all rapid mapping schools, ranging from 10.0% to 56.7%. Several populations of B. pfeifferi were confirmed, with two new eastern shoreline locations noted. Mean prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis was 24.0% [95% CI 20.3 – 27.7]. Conclusions: We notify that intestinal schistosomiasis, once considered non-endemic in Lake Malawi, is now transitioning from emergence to outbreak. Once control interventions can resume after COVID-19, we recommend stepped-up preventive chemotherapy, with increased community-access to treatments, alongside renewed efforts in appropriate environmental control.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document