First nationwide survey of the health of schoolchildren in Chad

Abstract

SummarySurvey data are presented from a nationwide survey of the health of schoolchildren in Chad. The country was stratified into distinct ecological zones based on satellite sensor environmental data. Twenty schools were visited and 1024 children aged between 6 and 15 years were included in the study. The overall prevalence of stunting, underweight, anaemia and goitre was 18.7, 16.5, 25.1 and 23.3%, respectively. Schistosoma haematobium, Schistosoma mansoni and hookworm were the only helminth species found with prevalences of 13.2, 1 and 32.7%, respectively. A greater proportion of boys were stunted, underweight, anaemic and infected with S. haematobium and hookworm than girls. Older children were more stunted, underweight and infected with S. haematobium and hookworm than younger children, but less anaemic. The prevalence of infection showed marked geographical heterogeneity, with hookworm prevalence being highest in the Sudanian and tropical zone, and S. haematobium being most prevalent in the Sahelian zone and the Logone and Chari basins in the west of the country. These data show that there is a high prevalence of helminth infection in Chad, but that treatment for S. haematobium and hookworm should be targeted to different geographical areas.

The spatial and seasonal distribution of Bulinus truncatus, Bulinus forskalii and Biomphalaria pfeifferi, the intermediate host snails of schistosomiasis, in N’Djamena, Chad

“…For the peripheral neighbourhoods of the capital N'Djamena, a S. haematobium infection prevalence of 11.8% was reported in the mid-1990s (Massenet et al, 1995). For N'Djamena itself, a prevalence of 2.6% for S. haematobium (Beasley et al, 2002) and nil for S. mansoni (Alio et al, 2013) have been reported.…”

“…A national survey carried out in 2000 revealed a coun-try-wide prevalence of 13.2% for S. haematobium and 1.0% for S. mansoni among school-aged children (Beasley et al, 2002). More recently, Alio et al (2013) reported a somewhat higher prevalence of 3.4% for S. mansoni.…”

Stunting among primary-school children: a sample from Baghdad, Iraq

“…This association is not a simple causal one because complex environmental, social and economic factors interfere [1][2][3][4].…”

“…However, data on the growth of school-age children, generated in a consistent manner across countries and over time, is difficult to find [3][4][5][6].…”

The Estrada Real project and endemic diseases: the case of schistosomiasis, geoprocessing and tourism

“…Brown (1994) and Appleton (1978) documented the climate and environmental variables that influenced the distribution of schistosomiasis. GIS was used in a larger scale schistosomiasis study in Asia (Cross et al 1996, Seto et al 2002, Yang et al 2005, Zhang et al 2008) and in several African countries, including Ethiopia , Egypt (Abdel-Rahman et al 2001, Malone et al 1994, Uganda (Kabatereine et al 2004), Tanzania (Brooker et al 2001) and Chad (Beasley et al 2002, Brooker 2002). In the state of Bahia, Brazil, Bavia et al (2001) conducted one of the first studies that attempted to correlate disease distribution with environmental variables.…”