Prevalence distribution and risk factors for Schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in Blantyre, Malawi.
BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a public health problem in Malawi but estimates of its prevalence vary widely. There is need for updated information on the extent of disease burden, communities at risk and factors associated with infection at the district and sub-district level to facilitate effectiv...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:99201758815341218dfe2c8b65f09692 2023-05-15T15:17:38+02:00 Prevalence distribution and risk factors for Schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in Blantyre, Malawi. Atupele P Kapito-Tembo Victor Mwapasa Steven R Meshnick Young Samanyika Dan Banda Cameron Bowie Sarah Radke 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000361 https://doaj.org/article/99201758815341218dfe2c8b65f09692 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2614474?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000361 https://doaj.org/article/99201758815341218dfe2c8b65f09692 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 3, Iss 1, p e361 (2009) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2009 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000361 2022-12-30T23:04:07Z BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a public health problem in Malawi but estimates of its prevalence vary widely. There is need for updated information on the extent of disease burden, communities at risk and factors associated with infection at the district and sub-district level to facilitate effective prioritization and monitoring while ensuring ownership and sustainability of prevention and control programs at the local level. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a cross-sectional study between May and July 2006 among pupils in Blantyre district from a stratified random sample of 23 primary schools. Information on socio-demographic factors, schistosomiasis symptoms and other risk factors was obtained using questionnaires. Urine samples were examined for Schistosoma hematobium ova using filtration method. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions with robust estimates were used to assess risk factors for S. hematobium. One thousand one hundred and fifty (1,150) pupils were enrolled with a mean age of 10.5 years and 51.5% of them were boys. One thousand one hundred and thirty-nine (1,139) pupils submitted urine and S. hematobium ova were detected in 10.4% (95%CI 5.43-15.41%). Male gender (OR 1.81; 95% CI 1.06-3.07), child's knowledge of an existing open water source (includes river, dam, springs, lake, etc.) in the area (OR 1.90; 95% CI 1.14-3.46), history of urinary schistosomiasis in the past month (OR 3.65; 95% CI 2.22-6.00), distance of less than 1 km from school to the nearest open water source (OR 5.39; 95% CI 1.67-17.42) and age 8-10 years (OR 4.55; 95% CI 1.53-13.50) compared to those 14 years or older were associated with infection. Using urine microscopy as a gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of self-reported hematuria was 68.3% and 73.6%, respectively. However, the positive predictive value was low at 23.9% and was associated with age. CONCLUSION: The study provides an important update on the status of infection in this part of sub-Saharan Africa and exemplifies the success of deliberate ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 3 1 e361 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Atupele P Kapito-Tembo Victor Mwapasa Steven R Meshnick Young Samanyika Dan Banda Cameron Bowie Sarah Radke Prevalence distribution and risk factors for Schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in Blantyre, Malawi. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis is a public health problem in Malawi but estimates of its prevalence vary widely. There is need for updated information on the extent of disease burden, communities at risk and factors associated with infection at the district and sub-district level to facilitate effective prioritization and monitoring while ensuring ownership and sustainability of prevention and control programs at the local level. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a cross-sectional study between May and July 2006 among pupils in Blantyre district from a stratified random sample of 23 primary schools. Information on socio-demographic factors, schistosomiasis symptoms and other risk factors was obtained using questionnaires. Urine samples were examined for Schistosoma hematobium ova using filtration method. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions with robust estimates were used to assess risk factors for S. hematobium. One thousand one hundred and fifty (1,150) pupils were enrolled with a mean age of 10.5 years and 51.5% of them were boys. One thousand one hundred and thirty-nine (1,139) pupils submitted urine and S. hematobium ova were detected in 10.4% (95%CI 5.43-15.41%). Male gender (OR 1.81; 95% CI 1.06-3.07), child's knowledge of an existing open water source (includes river, dam, springs, lake, etc.) in the area (OR 1.90; 95% CI 1.14-3.46), history of urinary schistosomiasis in the past month (OR 3.65; 95% CI 2.22-6.00), distance of less than 1 km from school to the nearest open water source (OR 5.39; 95% CI 1.67-17.42) and age 8-10 years (OR 4.55; 95% CI 1.53-13.50) compared to those 14 years or older were associated with infection. Using urine microscopy as a gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of self-reported hematuria was 68.3% and 73.6%, respectively. However, the positive predictive value was low at 23.9% and was associated with age. CONCLUSION: The study provides an important update on the status of infection in this part of sub-Saharan Africa and exemplifies the success of deliberate ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Atupele P Kapito-Tembo Victor Mwapasa Steven R Meshnick Young Samanyika Dan Banda Cameron Bowie Sarah Radke |
author_facet |
Atupele P Kapito-Tembo Victor Mwapasa Steven R Meshnick Young Samanyika Dan Banda Cameron Bowie Sarah Radke |
author_sort |
Atupele P Kapito-Tembo |
title |
Prevalence distribution and risk factors for Schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in Blantyre, Malawi. |
title_short |
Prevalence distribution and risk factors for Schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in Blantyre, Malawi. |
title_full |
Prevalence distribution and risk factors for Schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in Blantyre, Malawi. |
title_fullStr |
Prevalence distribution and risk factors for Schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in Blantyre, Malawi. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Prevalence distribution and risk factors for Schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in Blantyre, Malawi. |
title_sort |
prevalence distribution and risk factors for schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in blantyre, malawi. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000361 https://doaj.org/article/99201758815341218dfe2c8b65f09692 |
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Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 3, Iss 1, p e361 (2009) |
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http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2614474?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000361 https://doaj.org/article/99201758815341218dfe2c8b65f09692 |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000361 |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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e361 |
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