Effective control of Schistosoma haematobium infection in a Ghanaian community following installation of a water recreation area

Urogenital schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium was endemic in Adasawase, Ghana in 2007. Transmission was reported to be primarily through recreational water contact. We designed a water recreation area (WRA) to prevent transmission to school-aged children. The WRA features a concrete p...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PLoS neglected tropical diseases Vol. 6; no. 7; p. e1709
Main Authors:	Kosinski, Karen C, Adjei, Michael N, Bosompem, Kwabena M, Crocker, Jonathan J, Durant, John L, Osabutey, Dickson, Plummer, Jeanine D, Stadecker, Miguel J, Wagner, Anjuli D, Woodin, Mark, Gute, David M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Public Library of Science 01-07-2012 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:	Adolescent Age Animals Aquatic sports facilities Child Community Eggs Female Ghana - epidemiology Health aspects Hematuria Humans Infection Control - methods Infections Male Medicine Morbidity Parasites Parasitic diseases Parks & recreation areas Prevention Recreation Risk factors Schistosoma haematobium - isolation & purification Schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis haematobia - epidemiology Schistosomiasis haematobia - prevention & control Surface water Tropical diseases Urine Water - parasitology Young Adult Ghana Water Schistosoma haematobium Humans Infection Control Male Ghana Schistosomiasis haematobia Young Adult Animals Recreation Adolescent Female Child
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Urogenital schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium was endemic in Adasawase, Ghana in 2007. Transmission was reported to be primarily through recreational water contact. We designed a water recreation area (WRA) to prevent transmission to school-aged children. The WRA features a concrete pool supplied by a borehole well and a gravity-driven rainwater collection system; it is 30 m(2) and is split into shallow and deep sections to accommodate a variety of age groups. The WRA opened in 2009 and children were encouraged to use it for recreation as opposed to the local river. We screened children annually for S. haematobium eggs in their urine in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and established differences in infection rates before (2008-09) and after (2009-10) installation of the WRA. After each annual screening, children were treated with praziquantel and rescreened to confirm parasite clearance. Initial baseline testing in 2008 established that 105 of 247 (42.5%) children were egg-positive. In 2009, with drug treatment alone, the pre-WRA annual cumulative incidence of infection was 29 of 216 (13.4%). In 2010, this incidence rate fell significantly (p<0.001, chi-squared) to 9 of 245 (3.7%) children after installation of the WRA. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine correlates of infection among the variables age, sex, distance between home and river, minutes observed at the river, low height-for-age, low weight-for-age, low Body Mass Index (BMI)-for-age, and previous infection status. The installation and use of a WRA is a feasible and highly effective means to reduce the incidence of schistosomiasis in school-aged children in a rural Ghanaian community. In conjunction with drug treatment and education, such an intervention can represent a significant step towards the control of schistosomiasis. The WRA should be tested in other water-rich endemic areas to determine whether infection prevalence can be substantially reduced.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Conceived and designed the experiments: KCK MNA KMB JJC JLD JDP MJS ADW DMG. Performed the experiments: KCK MNA JJC DO ADW. Analyzed the data: KCK MNA KMB JJC JLD DO JDP MJS ADW MW DMG. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: KCK KMB JLD ADW DMG. Wrote the paper: KCK MNA KMB JJC JLD DO JDP MJS ADW MW DMG.
ISSN:	1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pntd.0001709