Urinary Schistosomiasis in Children—Still a Concern in Part of the Ghanaian Capital City

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease of the tropics which is estimated to affect up to 300 million people worldwide. While it is being successfully controlled in many countries, it remains a major public health problem, especially in developing countries including Ghana. Extensive work on schistosomiasis has been undertaken along the Volta River basin, leaving very little data and information on this infection in the urban and peri-urban areas in Ghana. This study was aimed at determining the urinary schistosomiasis burden among children of school going age within Zenu, a suburb of the capital city. Urine samples were taken from 274 school children within the Zenu community and examined with urine chemistry dipsticks for detection and confirmation of haematuria, followed by microscopy for detection of Schistosoma haematobium ova. Prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis was 30.7% (95% CI: 25.2 -36.2). 44 (52%) of the positive samples were collected from males whiles 40 (48%) were collected from females, but prevalence of the infection was not significantly associated with gender (χ 2 = 0.041, DF = 1, P-Value = 0.839). Among the S. haematobium positive children, haematuria was detected by the dipstick in 88.1% (74/84, 95% CI: 81.2 -95.0), but it was not detected in 11.9% (10/84, 95% CI: 5.0 -18.8). Meanwhile, the dipstick detected haematuria in 7.3% (20/274, of the total population but microscopy could not detect the presence of Schistosoma ova in those children. An association was found between Schistosoma infection and haematuria detected by dipstick (χ 2 = 84.715, DF = 1, P-Value < 0.001). It could be noted that urinary schistosomiasis in children is still a concern in parts of the Ghanaian capital city.

Persistent Urogenital Schistosomiasis and Its Associated Morbidity in Endemic Communities within Southern Ghana: Suspected Praziquantel Resistance or Reinfection?

“…The Zenu community is a "virgin" area in terms of schistosomiasis drug administration by the Neglected Tropical Disease Control Program. The prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in this community has initially been reported as 30.7% [21].…”

“…Zenu is a small community situated specifically in the southern part of the Ashiaman municipality (a town on the outskirts of Tema) which is a suburb of Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Its geographical coordinates are 5 • 42'0" North, 0 • 20'0" West [21]. Subsistent farming and fishing remain the main economic activities, although a few inhabitants are civil servants ( Figure 1).…”

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Schistosomiasis Among Primary Schoolchildren in Al–mahweet Governorate, Yemen

“…Study conducted in Ghana, by Tetteh-Quarcoo, and collab., reported that the Prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium infection was 30.7 % [TETTEH- QUARCOO, et al, 2013] . Other study conducted in South Africa, reported that the Prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium infection was 73.2 % [MEENTS and BOYLES, 2010] .…”

Influences of Land-Use Dynamics and Surface Water Systems Interactions on Water-Related Infectious Diseases—A Systematic Review

“…Temperature, turbidity, pH Dengue [75] Temperature Malaria [59,75,87] E. coli, fecal coliform Cholera [45,61,62,81,88] E. coli, fecal coliform, turbidity, pH Dysentery [61,62,89] E. coli, fecal coliform Typhoid fever [61,62] E. coli, fecal coliform, BOD, temperature, DO Cryptosporidiosis [70,81] Fecal coliform Schistosomiasis [76,77,83,85,[90][91][92] E. coli, fecal coliform, temperature, turbidity Buruli ulcer [85] E. coli, fecal coliform, temperature, DO, BOD, TSS, turbidity Hookworm [92] pH = Potential of Hydrogen; DO = Dissolved Oxygen; BOD = Biochemical Oxygen Demand; TSS = Total Dissolved Solid.…”

“…Recreational activity was the major exposure and risk factor of schistosomiasis transmission Ghana [35,90] pH = Potential of Hydrogen; EC = Electro Conductivity; DO = Dissolved Oxygen; COD = Chemical Oxygen Demand; BOD = Biochemical Oxygen Demand.…”