Schistosomiasis in the Democratic Republic of Congo: a literature review

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a poverty-related parasitic infection, leading to chronic ill-health. For more than a century, schistosomiasis has been known to be endemic in certain provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). However, a clear overview on the status of the disease within the country is currently lacking, which is seriously hampering control. Here, we review the available information on schistosomiasis in DRC of the past 60 years. Findings and data gaps are discussed in the perspective of upcoming control activities.An electronic literature search via PubMed complemented by manual search of non-peer-reviewed articles was conducted up to January 2015. The search concerned all relevant records related to schistosomiasis in the DRC from January 1955 onwards. A total of 155 records were found, of which 30 met the inclusion criteria. Results were summarized by geographical region, mapped, and compared with those reported sixty years ago. The available data reported schistosomiasis in some areas located in 10 of the 11 provinces of DRC. Three species of Schistosoma were found: S. mansoni, S. haematobium and S. intercalatum. The prevalence of schistosomiasis varied greatly between regions and between villages, with high values of up to 95 % observed in some communities. The overall trend over 60 years points to the spread of schistosomiasis to formerly non-endemic areas. The prevalence of schistosomiasis has increased in rural endemic areas and decreased in urban/peri-urban endemic areas of Kinshasa. Hepatosplenomegaly, urinary tract lesions and anaemia were commonly reported in schistosomiasis endemic areas but not always associated with infection status.The present review confirms that schistosomiasis is still endemic in DRC. However, available data are scattered across time and space and studies lack methodological uniformity, hampering a reliable estimation of the current status of schistosomiasis in DRC. There is a clear need for updated prevalence data and well-designed studies on the epidemiology and transmission of schistosomiasis in DRC. This will aid the national control program to adequately design and implement strategies for sustainable and comprehensive control of schistosomiasis throughout the country.

Non-typhoidal Salmonella intestinal carriage in a Schistosoma mansoni endemic community in a rural area of the Democratic Republic of Congo

“…The province of Kongo Central in DRC reported invasive Salmonella infections decades ago [36] but also more recently [33,37]. The area is also endemic for schistosomiasis with a predominance of Schistosoma mansoni infection [35]. After the assessment of six Health Reference Zones in the Province of Kongo Central during site visits, the village of Kifua II (-5˚25 42.1"S; 14˚39´19.1"E) situated in the health area of Tumba Misson and in the Health Zone of Kwilu Ngongo was selected as the study site ( Fig 1).…”

“…In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), located in Central-Africa, schistosomiasis and invasive Salmonella infections are endemic [30][31][32][33][34][35]. The main objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of Salmonella intestinal carriage in a Schistosoma mansoni endemic community, and to assess a possible association between both pathogens.…”

Assessment of schistosomiasis and soil‐transmitted helminths prevalence in school‐aged children and opportunities for integration of control in local health services in Kwilu Province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo

“…Rimoin and Hotez also stated that there is a particular dearth of schistosomiasis surveillance in the DRC urging for updated prevalence data . This call has led to a summary of the available epidemiological data on SCH in the DRC . In addition, recent surveys have been performed indicating that both SCH and STH are still endemic in DRC and high endemic foci have been described , but for many districts no data are available.…”

Prevalence ofSchistosoma mansoniInfection in Four Health Areas of Kisantu Health Zone, Democratic Republic of the Congo

“…However, there is a particular lack of surveillance activity related to schistosomiasis in the DRC. Kongo Central (Bas-Congo) is one of the endemic provinces for schistosomiasis in the DRC as highlighted by Madinga et al [12]. At present, there are only estimates of the disease burden of schistosomiasis which are inaccurate due to lack of studies and these authors emphasize that there is an urgent need to investigate the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases [13].…”