Abaver Dominic Targema
HERENDA Program, New Medical School, Walter Sisulu University, Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha 5100, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, New Medical School, Walter Sisulu University, Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha 5100, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Trop Med Infect Dis. 2024 Nov 30;9(12):293. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed9120293.
Schistosomiasis is caused by infection with trematode flukes of the genus Schistosoma. More than 700 million people worldwide are estimated to be susceptible to infection. In sub-Saharan Africa, schistosomiasis is the second most widespread neglected tropical disease after malaria. This retrospective investigation evaluated the incidence and impacts of schistosomiasis on communities across three major districts of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa using a cross-sectional retrospective observational analysis of secondary data from patients with microscopically confirmed schistosomiasis between 2019 and 2020. This study focused upon both rural and semi-urban areas, including Bizana, Butterworth, Centane, Elliotdale, Flagstaff, Idutywa, Lusikisiki, Libode, Mqanduli, Port St. Johns, Willowvale, and Mthatha. Data were obtained from three districts-Alfred Nzo, Amatole, and OR Tambo-covering both rural and semi-urban regions. This study included patients of all ages who submitted urine samples for schistosomiasis testing in the specified districts. A simple random sampling method was used to select 337 clinical records from the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) of Mthatha. Hospital records from the NHLS Microbiology Department of Mthatha were analyzed. St Barnabas Laboratory had the highest frequency of cases (34.1%), followed by Greenville Depot (17.8%) and Willowvale Laboratory (11.3%). Most cases were in the 10-19 age group (63.4%), followed by those under 10 years of age (24.9%). Male patients constituted 76.4% of the cases, while female patients accounted for 23.6%. Viable ova were observed in 98.2% of the samples. This study highlights a significant prevalence of schistosomiasis in the Eastern Cape province, with a higher incidence in rural areas and among males aged 10-19. These findings underscore the need for targeted public health interventions and continuous monitoring to control and prevent schistosomiasis in this region.
血吸虫病是由感染血吸虫属的吸虫引起的。据估计，全球有超过7亿人易受感染。在撒哈拉以南非洲，血吸虫病是仅次于疟疾的第二大最广泛流行的被忽视热带病。这项回顾性调查采用横断面回顾性观察分析方法，对2019年至2020年间显微镜确诊的血吸虫病患者的二次数据进行分析，评估了南非东开普省三个主要地区血吸虫病的发病率及其对社区的影响。本研究聚焦于农村和半城市地区，包括比扎纳、巴特沃思、森泰恩、埃利奥特代尔、弗拉格斯塔夫、伊杜蒂瓦、卢西基西基、利博德、姆坎杜利、圣约翰港、威洛瓦勒和姆塔塔。数据来自阿尔弗雷德·恩佐、阿马托勒和奥·坦博三个地区，涵盖农村和半城市地区。本研究纳入了在指定地区提交尿液样本进行血吸虫病检测的所有年龄段患者。采用简单随机抽样方法从姆塔塔国家卫生实验室服务中心（NHLS）选取了337份临床记录。对姆塔塔NHLS微生物学部门的医院记录进行了分析。圣巴纳巴斯实验室的病例频率最高（34.1%），其次是格林维尔仓库（17.8%）和威洛瓦勒实验室（11.3%）。大多数病例在10 - 19岁年龄组（63.4%），其次是10岁以下儿童（24.9%）。男性患者占病例的76.4%，而女性患者占23.6%。在98.2%的样本中观察到活卵。本研究突出了东开普省血吸虫病的显著流行情况，农村地区以及10 - 19岁男性的发病率更高。这些发现强调了需要有针对性的公共卫生干预措施和持续监测，以控制和预防该地区的血吸虫病。
