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Cited by 108Parasites and Host InteractionsMollusks and Parasites StudiesParasitic infections in humans and animals

Prevalence distribution and risk factors for Schistosoma hematobium infection among school children in Blantyre, Malawi

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Kapito-Tembo, Atupele P., Mwapasa, Victor, Meshnick, Steven R., Samanyika, Young, Banda, Dan, Bowie, Cameron, Radke, Sarah·2009·PLoS neglected tropical diseases
DOI 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000361PMC PMC2614474
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Abstract

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 national efforts to advance active participation in schistosomiasis prevention and control activities at the sub-national or sub-district levels. In this population, children who attend schools close to open water sources are at an increased risk of infection and self-reported hematuria may still be useful in older children in this region.

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  • Boys were at greater risk than girls for contracting schistosomiasis and hookworm infections as well as stunting.

    “In assessing whether women and girls were at higher risk for health burdens, most studies focused on children determining that boys were at greater risk for contracting both schistosomiasis (Kapito-Tembo et al., 2009;Ugbomoiko et al., 2009;Atalabi et al., 2016;Donohue et al., 2017) and hookworm infections (Baker et al., 2018) as well as stunting (Akombi et al., 2017) which is in line with a well-d”

    From A Systematic Review of Water and Gender Interlinkages: Assessing the Intersection With Health (2020) · cites this paper as Kapito-Tembo et al., 2009

  • Exposure to open water near schools increases the risk of schistosomiasis.

    “Outside of the home, exposure to open water near schools increases the risk of schistosomiasis (Kapito-Tembo et al., 2009).”

    From A Systematic Review of Water and Gender Interlinkages: Assessing the Intersection With Health (2020) · cites this paper as Kapito-Tembo et al., 2009

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [43]Lengeler C Utzinger J Tanner M 2002 Questionnaires for rapid screening of schistosomiasis in sub-saharan africa. Bull World Health Organ 80(3) 235 242 11984610 PMC2567742

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Authors
Kapito-Tembo, A. P., Mwapasa, V., Meshnick, S. R., Samanyika, Y., Banda, D., Bowie, C., & Radke, S.
Affiliations
  • University of Malawi (MW)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • Ministry of Health (MW)
ORCID
Venue
PLoS neglected tropical diseases
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2009-01-20
Volume
3
Issue
1
Pages
e361
ISSN
  • 1935-2727 (ISSN-L)
  • 1935-2735
DOI
10.1371/journal.pntd.0000361
PMC
PMC2614474
OpenAlex
W2137524771
Cited by
108
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 9
FWCI
3.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS neglected tropical diseases (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Fogarty International Center
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Parasitology › Parasites and Host Interactions
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Mollusks and Parasites Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Parasitic infections in humans and animals
Keywords
urinary schistosomiasis, elementary school students, prevalence, risk factors, Blantyre, hematuria, urine microscopy, self-reported symptoms, disease burden, water, sanitation and hygiene, gender differences, age differences, distance to water source
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Animals, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Malawi, Male, Risk Factors, Rural Health, Schistosomiasis haematobia, Prevalence

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