Spatial modelling was applied to self-reported schistosomiasis data from over 2.5 million school students from 12,399 schools in all regions of mainland Tanzania. The aims were to derive statistically robust prevalence estimates in small geographical units (wards), to identify spatial clusters of high and low prevalence and to quantify uncertainty surrounding prevalence estimates. The objective...

Schistosomiasis is one of the most common parasitic diseases in tropical and subtropical areas, including Brazil. A national control programme was initiated in Brazil in the mid-1970s and proved successful in terms of morbidity control, as the number of cases with hepato-splenic involvement was reduced significantly. To consolidate control and move towards elimination, there is a need for relia...

BACKGROUND We investigated changes in the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis in Mali following a decade of donor-funded control and a further 12 years without control. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS National pre-intervention cross-sectional schistosomiasis surveys were conducted in Mali in 1984-1989 (in communities) and again in 2004-2006 (in schools). Bayesian geostatistical models were...

Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharziasis is caused by snail transmitted parasites of the genus schistosoma that inhabit the human vasculature.(1,2) It is among the most important parasitic diseases worldwide, with a significant socio economic impact(3). More than 200 million people are infected, and about 200,000 may die from the disease each year. On a global scale, one of thirty individual...

Schistosomiasis is one of the leading neglected tropical diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Recorded case numbers this chronic and debilitating helminth disease indicate Nigeria to be most endemic country within region. National control efforts have focused intensively on restricting human contact with freshwater sources intermediate host snails. However, limited attention has been paid role lives...

OBJECTIVE School questionnaires of self-reported schistosomiasis provide a rapid and simple approach for identifying schools at high risk of Schistosoma haematobium and requiring mass treatment. This study investigates the reliability of school questionnaires to identify such schools and infected children within the context of a national school-based deworming programme in Kenya. METHODS Betw...

Even with a national control programme in place, intestinal schistosomiasis continues to be a major public health problem in school-aged children and other community members in Uganda. This is especially the case in the environments around the Great Lakes, where disease transmission is high, such as Lake Victoria. Moreover, in the most remote areas, some schools might periodically miss large-sc...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is considered the most common etiology of chronic liver disease (CLD) in Egypt, where prevalence of antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) is approximately 10-fold greater than in the United States and Europe. Reported are results that show the role of HCV in both overt and occult CLD, the risk factors for CLD and for HCV infection, and the relative importance of chronic HCV, hepa...

BACKGROUND Intestinal schistosomiasis due to Schistosoma mansoni was first reported in Oman in 1979. We describe the trend in parasitological and serological prevalence of human infection with S. mansoni in the endemic area over the period 1982-2014, and the compliance of data generated by the national monitoring and evaluation system with schistosomiasis elimination criteria set by the Ministr...

BACKGROUND Despite public health efforts to reduce the global burden of leprosy, gaps remain in the knowledge surrounding transmission of infection. Helminth co-infections have been associated with a shift towards the lepromatous end of the disease spectrum, potentially increasing transmission in co-endemic areas. OBJECTIVES Using this biologically plausible association, we conducted a geogra...