Infant schistosomiasis in Ghana: a survey in an irrigation community

Trop Med Int Health. 2004 Aug;9(8):917-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2004.01282.x.

Abstract

We used a rapid, visually read, field applicable monoclonal antibody (MoAb)-dipstick assay for specific diagnosis of urinary schistosomiasis together with microscopy to determine the prevalence of infant schistosomiasis in a community in the Awutu-Efutu Senya District in the Central Region of Ghana. The study group consisted of 97 infants (51 males and 46 females) aged 2 months to 5 years. A total of 75 of 97 (77.3%) subjects submitted stool samples; none had Schistosoma mansoni. Three individuals (3.1%) had hookworms but there were no other intestinal helminths. The urinary schistosomiasis prevalence by MoAb-dipstick (30%) was higher (P < 0.05) than that estimated by microscopy (11.2%). However, three of nine (33.3%) microscopically confirmed cases tested MoAb-dipstick positive after pre-treatment of the urine specimen with heat. The youngest infant to be found infected with S. haematobium microscopically was 4 months old. Fifteen of 71 S. haematobium egg negative individuals tested dipstick positive, giving a dipstick specificity of 78.9% as compared with microscopy as gold standard test. The relative sensitivity of the dipstick was 100%.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Child, Preschool
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / methods
  • Feces / parasitology
  • Female
  • Ghana / epidemiology
  • Health Surveys
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Parasite Egg Count
  • Prevalence
  • Reagent Strips
  • Schistosomiasis haematobia / diagnosis*
  • Schistosomiasis haematobia / epidemiology
  • Schistosomiasis haematobia / transmission
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Water / parasitology
  • Water Supply*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Reagent Strips
  • Water