Risk factors for schistosomiasis in an urban area in northern Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

BackgroundSchistosomiasis is a water-based disease transmitted by trematodes belonging to the genus Schistosoma. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the prevalence of schistosomiasis and access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and environmental and socioeconomic factors in the city of Korhogo, northern Côte d'Ivoire.MethodsA cross-sectional study including 728 randomly selected households was conducted in Korhogo in March 2015. The heads of the households were interviewed about access to WASH and environmental and socioeconomic factors. All children abed between 5 and 15 years living in the households were selected to provide stool and urine samples for parasitological diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium infection. The relationship between infection with S. mansoni and potential risk factors was analysed by a mixed logistic regression model with ‘household’ as a random factor. Likelihood ratio tests were used to identify factors that were significantly associated with a Schistosoma spp. infection.ResultsThe overall prevalence of schistosomiasis among school-aged children in Korhogo was 1.9% (45/2341) composed of 0.3% (3/1248) S. haematobium and 3.5% (42/1202) S. mansoni. Due to the low prevalence of S. haematobium infection, risk factor analysis was limited to S. mansoni. Boys were 7.8 times more likely to be infected with S. mansoni than girls. Children between 10 and 15 years of age were 3.8 times more likely to be infected than their younger counterparts aged 5-10 years. Moreover, living in a house further away from a water access point (odds ratio [OR] = 0.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.13–0.70) and abstaining from swimming in open freshwater bodies (OR = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.04–0.56) were significantly associated with decreased odds of S. mansoni infection. The socioeconomic status did not appear to influence the prevalence of S. mansoni.ConclusionsA strategy to reduce the incidence of schistosomiasis should focus on health education to change the behaviour of populations at risk and encourage communities to improve sanitation and infrastructure in order to reduce contact with surface water.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40249-018-0431-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Schistosomiasis Burden and Its Association With Lower Measles Vaccine Responses in School Children From Rural Cameroon

“…We also confirmed a link between hematuria and S. haematobium infection on the Barombi Kotto site whereby children with hematuria were more likely to be egg-positive than egg-negative (50 vs. 5%, respectively). This is consistent with several previous studies that have unequivocally established the association between S. haematobium infection and hematuria ( 1 , 8 , 17 , 25 ). Surprisingly, however, clinical signs usually associated with hepatointestinal schistosomiasis ( 17 , 25 ) such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, tiredness or rectal pain did not reliably associate with S. mansoni infection in Yoro.…”

“…Risk factors of infection (reinfection and/or persistent infection) in these sites were similar to those previously reported ( 1 , 8 , 17 , 25 ) i.e. age, gender, frequency of contact with infested water ( 25 , 30 – 32 ).…”

“…Utzinger's and Raso's groups ( 16 – 18 ) elegantly reported on the reduction of schistosomiasis transmission in regions of northern and central Cote d'Ivoire where the MDA campaigns were complemented with health education and community-led pro-sanitary practices tailored to these sites. These studies had initially mapped the determinants of schistosomiasis prevalence and disease in the targeted regions of Cote d'Ivoire ( 17 ) revealing a critical lack on the means of stopping schistosomiasis transmission and the overlooked community-led sanitary habits that might help prevent transmission. Upon implementation of health education campaigns and community-led pro-sanitary measures to correct the identified gaps ( 16 ), the prevalence and burden of schistosomiasis dropped considerably compared to MDA campaigns alone.…”

Impacts of host gender on Schistosoma mansoni risk in rural Uganda—A mixed-methods approach

“…https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008266.g001 PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES the only ones that were observed to swim. This is consistent with an activity survey in Côte d'Ivoire, which also found boys swam more than girls [46] and where girls spend more time at domestic tasks. However, in our study we observed fewer gender-specific occupational activities, whilst the activity survey found boys engaging more in fishing and watering cattle and girls spending more time at the market.…”

Challenges in schistosomiasis control in Sergipe, Brazil: from 2013 to 2018

“…Schistosomiasis is the most widespread parasitosis in the world, affecting specially the population from underdeveloped or developing countries. It manifest most often in its most severe form, in individuals living in areas with poor basic sanitation (Andrade Filho, de Queiroz, dos Reis, Amaral, & Brito, 2015;M'Bra et al, 2018;Zoni, Catalá, & Ault, 2016).…”