Urogenital schistosomiasis outbreak in a basic school, Volta Region, Ghana: a case-control study.

Publisher: African Field Epidemiology Network Country of Publication: Uganda NLM ID: 101517926 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1937-8688 (Electronic) NLM ISO Abbreviation: Pan Afr Med J Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Kampala, Uganda : African Field Epidemiology Network

Schistosomiasis haematobia*/epidemiology ; Schistosomiasis haematobia*/parasitology; Male ; Animals ; Case-Control Studies ; Ghana/epidemiology ; Schistosoma haematobium ; Disease Outbreaks ; Prevalence

Introduction: schistosomiasis is a neglected parasitic infection caused by nematode worms. It affects approximately 200 million people globally. Prevalence in Ghana is 23.3%, mostly affecting school children. On November 28 ^th 2018, the Disease Surveillance Department received reports of increase in occurrence of bloody urine among students of a basic school in the Volta Region. We investigated to identify the agent and source, to determine the magnitude, risk factors and to implement control measures.
Methods: we conducted a case-control study. A suspected case was any student of the school, who has bloody urine with or without: dysuria, itching of the skin, frequent urination or lower abdominal pain from September 2018 to November 2018. A confirmed case was one with laboratory-isolation of Schistosoma ova in appropriate urine sample. We identified cases from the school and hospital records. We collected socio-demographic, clinical and exposure data from cases and controls. Descriptive and inferential analysis were performed to estimate odds ratios at 95% confidence intervals (CI) to determine associations.
Results: of 880 students, 112 suspected cases were identified (attack rate = 12.7%). Mean age of suspected cases was 14-years (standard deviation = ±3.5). Confirmed cases were 76.8%(86/112). Males had twice odds of becoming cases (cOR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.35-3.96). Fishing (cOR = 7.29, 95% CI = 4.08-13.04) and swimming (aOR = 44.63, 95% CI = 4.73-420.86) were factors significantly associated with infection. Students with previous history of bloody urine had greater odds of being cases (aOR = 47.9, 95% CI = 4.19-546.55).
Conclusion: Schistosoma haematobium was isolated in this outbreak. Fishing and swimming were risky water-related activities. WASH education and mass drug administration with Praziquantel were control measures.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
(Copyright: Paul Henry Dsane-Aidoo et al.)

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Keywords: Ghana; Schistosoma haematobium; case-control studies; disease outbreaks; mass drug administration

Date Created: 20230321 Date Completed: 20230322 Latest Revision: 20230919

20240513

PMC10024558

10.11604/pamj.2022.43.191.33362

36942139