Urban schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminthiases in young school children in Dar es Salaam and Tanga, Tanzania, after a decade of anthelminthic intervention

•Schistosomiasis and STH status were assessed in pupils across two cities in Tanzania.•Infection burdens were generally low; knowledge about infections was poor.•Results indicate considerable decrease in urban transmission in recent years.•Ascribed mainly to drug programmes, environmental change and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta tropica 2014-05, Vol.133, p.35-41
Main Authors: Mwakitalu, Mbutolwe E., Malecela, Mwele N., Mosha, Franklin W., Simonsen, Paul E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Anthelmintics - therapeutic use
Child
Child, Preschool
Children
Control
Feces - parasitology
Female
Health Services Research
Helminthiasis - drug therapy
Helminthiasis - epidemiology
Helminthiasis - prevention & control
Humans
Intestinal Diseases - drug therapy
Intestinal Diseases - epidemiology
Intestinal Diseases - prevention & control
Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic
Male
Prevalence
Schistosoma
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis - drug therapy
Schistosomiasis - epidemiology
Schistosomiasis - prevention & control
Schools
Soil transmitted helminths
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tanzania
Tanzania - epidemiology
Treatment Outcome
Urban
Urban Population
Urine - parasitology
Urologic Diseases - drug therapy
Urologic Diseases - epidemiology
Urologic Diseases - prevention & control
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Summary:•Schistosomiasis and STH status were assessed in pupils across two cities in Tanzania.•Infection burdens were generally low; knowledge about infections was poor.•Results indicate considerable decrease in urban transmission in recent years.•Ascribed mainly to drug programmes, environmental change and improved hygiene.•Continuation of the control efforts important to maintain the positive achievements. Rapid urbanization in resource poor countries often results in expansion of unplanned settlements with overcrowding and inadequate sanitation. These conditions potentially support transmission of schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminths (STH), but knowledge on the occurrence, transmission and control of these infections in urban settings is limited. The present study assessed the status of urinary schistosomiasis and STH across two different-sized cities in Tanzania – Dar es Salaam and Tanga – after a decade of anthelminthic intervention. Primary school children were examined for parasite eggs in urine and stool. Questionnaires were administered to the children, and observations were made on the urban environments. The burden of urinary schistosomiasis and STH was found to be low in both cities (overall 1.2% in Dar es Salaam and 0.3% in Tanga for urinary schistosomiasis; overall
ISSN:0001-706X
1873-6254
DOI:10.1016/j.actatropica.2014.01.012