PREVALENCE AND INTENSITY OF SINGLE AND MIXED SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI AND SCHISTOSOMA HAEMATOBIUM INFECTIONS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN RACHUONYO NORTH DISTRICT, HOMABAY COUNTY, WESTERN KENYA.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence andintensity of single and mixed schistosomiasis infection among primary school children in Rachuonyo North District, Homabay County in western Kenya.

DESIGN

A descriptive cross sectional study.

SETTING

A parasitological survey involving six primary schools in Rachuonyo North District, Homabay County.

SUBJECTS

Four hundred and seventy four(474) school children, seven to 15 years old. Each child provided a urine and stool sample for diagnosis of schistosome and soil-transmitted helminth infections. Urine samples were processed using the filtration technique and the sample examined by microscopy for Schistosoma haematobium ova. Stool samples were processed by the Kato-Katz technique and the sample examined by microscopy for ova of S. mansoni and soil-transmitted helminths.

RESULTS

Prevelance of S.haematobium was 37.6%, S.mansoni (12.2%), hookworm (14.6%), Ascaris lumbricoides (6.3%), Trichuris trichiura (5.3%) among the children in the participating schools. Overall, 78.6% of the children infected with S.haematobium had light infection (<50 eggs per 10 ml of urine) and the rest (21.4%) had heavy infection (50 eggs per 10 ml of urine). On the hand, 75.9% of those with S.mansoni had light infection (one to 99 eggs per gram of stool (EPG), and the rest (24.1%) had moderate infection intensities (100-399 (EPG).

CONCLUSION

This is the first report in which both S.haematobium and S.mansoni are found together in the same geographic locality in high prevalence in the Lake Victoria region of western Kenya, with S. haematobium being the most predominant in some places. Rachuonyo North District becomes a new focus of mixed human schistosome infections in Kenya. The significant burden of schistosomiasis in this area highlights the need to include regular treatment for schistosomiasis in the national school based deworming programme especially now that the infection occurs in areas more than five kilometres away from the lake.