Assessment of urogenital schistosomiasis among basic school children in selected communities along major rivers in the central region of Ghana.

Autor: Duah E; Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.; Clinical Laboratory, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast, Ghana.; Dream Laboratory Consult Limited, Cape Coast, Ghana., Kenu E; Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana., Adela EM; Clinical Laboratory, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Cape Coast, Ghana., Halm HA; Tema Community 22 Polyclinic, Tema, Ghana., Agoni C; Dream Laboratory Consult Limited, Cape Coast, Ghana., Kumi RO; Dream Laboratory Consult Limited, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Pan African medical journal [Pan Afr Med J] 2021 Oct 13; Vol. 40, pp. 96. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Oct 13 (Print Publication: 2021).
DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2021.40.96.26708
Abstrakt: Introduction: urogenital schistosomiasis affects school-aged children with impacts on health, growth, and cognitive development. Basic schools along active water bodies have a possibility of a high infection among the children.
Methods: we performed a school-based cross-sectional assessment of urogenital schistosomiasis among children in four selected rural communities along major rivers in the central region of Ghana. Three hundred and nine (309) basic school children class 1 to junior high school (JHS) 3 were recruited. Sociodemographic data and information on behavioral influences were collected with a structured written questionnaire. Laboratory examinations were conducted on fresh urine samples. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations with measures of association between variables, adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression analysis were performed on measured variables.
Results: we recorded a 10.4% prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis. Schools in communities along the Kakum river recorded the highest disease burden (65.6%). The odds of infection among pupils who engage in irrigation activities were 4 folds more than those who do not engage in irrigation activities (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) (95%CI): 4.3 (1.6-12.1), P-value=0.005). Pupils of caregivers who resort to self-medication using local herbal concoctions had 14-fold more odds of infection compared to those who visit the health facility (aOR (95%CI): 14.4 (1.4-143.1), P-value=0.006).
Conclusion: poor health-seeking behaviors and lack of access to health facilities influenced the disease proportion among the children in these endemic communities.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
(Copyright: Evans Duah et al.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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