Trends in the prevalence of microscopically-confirmed schistosomiasis in the South African public health sector, 2011-2018.
Background Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a chronic parasitic blood fluke infection acquired through contact with contaminated surface water. The illness may be mild or can cause significant morbidity with potentially serious complications. Children and those living in rural areas with...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e0559750c4e446a8abfd7f9e64bd4425 2023-05-15T15:16:42+02:00 Trends in the prevalence of microscopically-confirmed schistosomiasis in the South African public health sector, 2011-2018. Liesl De Boni Veerle Msimang Alex De Voux John Frean 2021-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009669 https://doaj.org/article/e0559750c4e446a8abfd7f9e64bd4425 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009669 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009669 https://doaj.org/article/e0559750c4e446a8abfd7f9e64bd4425 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 15, Iss 9, p e0009669 (2021) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009669 2022-12-31T04:33:57Z Background Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a chronic parasitic blood fluke infection acquired through contact with contaminated surface water. The illness may be mild or can cause significant morbidity with potentially serious complications. Children and those living in rural areas with limited access to piped water and services for healthcare are the most commonly infected. To address the prevalence of the disease in parts of South Africa (SA) effective national control measures are planned, but have not yet been implemented. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and trends of public sector laboratory-confirmed schistosomiasis cases in SA over an eight-year (2011-2018) period, to inform future control measures. Methodology & principal findings This is a descriptive analysis of secondary data from the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). The study included all records of patients for whom microscopic examination detected Schistosoma species eggs in urine or stool specimens from January 2011 to December 2018. Crude estimates of the prevalence were calculated using national census mid-year provincial population estimates as denominators, and simple linear regression was used to analyse prevalence trends. A test rate ratio was developed to describe variations in testing volumes among different groups and to adjust prevalence estimates for testing variations. A total number of 135 627 schistosomiasis cases was analysed with the highest prevalence observed among males and individuals aged 5-19 years. We describe ongoing endemicity in the Eastern Cape Province, and indicate important differences in the testing between population groups. Conclusion While there was no overall change in the prevalence of schistosomiasis during the analysis period, an average of 36 people per 100 000 was infected annually. As such, this represents an opportunity to control the disease and improve quality of life of affected people. Laboratory-based surveillance is a useful method for reporting occurrence and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 15 9 e0009669 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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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 Liesl De Boni Veerle Msimang Alex De Voux John Frean Trends in the prevalence of microscopically-confirmed schistosomiasis in the South African public health sector, 2011-2018. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a chronic parasitic blood fluke infection acquired through contact with contaminated surface water. The illness may be mild or can cause significant morbidity with potentially serious complications. Children and those living in rural areas with limited access to piped water and services for healthcare are the most commonly infected. To address the prevalence of the disease in parts of South Africa (SA) effective national control measures are planned, but have not yet been implemented. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and trends of public sector laboratory-confirmed schistosomiasis cases in SA over an eight-year (2011-2018) period, to inform future control measures. Methodology & principal findings This is a descriptive analysis of secondary data from the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). The study included all records of patients for whom microscopic examination detected Schistosoma species eggs in urine or stool specimens from January 2011 to December 2018. Crude estimates of the prevalence were calculated using national census mid-year provincial population estimates as denominators, and simple linear regression was used to analyse prevalence trends. A test rate ratio was developed to describe variations in testing volumes among different groups and to adjust prevalence estimates for testing variations. A total number of 135 627 schistosomiasis cases was analysed with the highest prevalence observed among males and individuals aged 5-19 years. We describe ongoing endemicity in the Eastern Cape Province, and indicate important differences in the testing between population groups. Conclusion While there was no overall change in the prevalence of schistosomiasis during the analysis period, an average of 36 people per 100 000 was infected annually. As such, this represents an opportunity to control the disease and improve quality of life of affected people. Laboratory-based surveillance is a useful method for reporting occurrence and ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Liesl De Boni Veerle Msimang Alex De Voux John Frean |
author_facet |
Liesl De Boni Veerle Msimang Alex De Voux John Frean |
author_sort |
Liesl De Boni |
title |
Trends in the prevalence of microscopically-confirmed schistosomiasis in the South African public health sector, 2011-2018. |
title_short |
Trends in the prevalence of microscopically-confirmed schistosomiasis in the South African public health sector, 2011-2018. |
title_full |
Trends in the prevalence of microscopically-confirmed schistosomiasis in the South African public health sector, 2011-2018. |
title_fullStr |
Trends in the prevalence of microscopically-confirmed schistosomiasis in the South African public health sector, 2011-2018. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Trends in the prevalence of microscopically-confirmed schistosomiasis in the South African public health sector, 2011-2018. |
title_sort |
trends in the prevalence of microscopically-confirmed schistosomiasis in the south african public health sector, 2011-2018. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009669 https://doaj.org/article/e0559750c4e446a8abfd7f9e64bd4425 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 15, Iss 9, p e0009669 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009669 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009669 https://doaj.org/article/e0559750c4e446a8abfd7f9e64bd4425 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009669 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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15 |
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9 |
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e0009669 |
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