Sonographic studies of schoolchildren in a village endemic for Schistosoma mansoni

• Published in: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Vol. 84; no. 1; pp. 69 - 73
• Main Authors: Abdel-Wahab, M.Farid, Esmat, Gamal, Narooz, Shaker I., Yosery, Ayman, Struewing, J.P., Strickland, G.Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1990; Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Biological and medical sciences; Diseases caused by trematodes; Female; Freshwater; Helminthic diseases; Hepatomegaly - parasitology; Humans; Infectious diseases; Liver - parasitology; Male; Medical sciences; Parasite Egg Count; Parasitic diseases; Schistosoma mansoni; Schistosomiases; Schistosomiasis mansoni - diagnosis; Schistosomiasis mansoni - parasitology; Spleen - parasitology; Splenomegaly - parasitology; Tropical medicine; Ultrasonography; Egypt, Arab Rep; Human; Portal circulation; Sonography; Schistosoma mansoni; Liver; Africa; Egypt; Plathelmintha; Trematod disease; Helminthiasis; Trematoda; Abdomen; Infection; Schistosomiasis; School age; Echography; Helmintha; Digestive diseases; Invertebrata; Child
• ISSN: 0035-9203; 1878-3503
• DOI: 10.1016/0035-9203(90)90388-U

Parasitological, clinical, and sonographic examinations were performed on 309 school children in a village endemic for schistosomiasis mansoni. Data from the 255 denying treatment within the previous 2 years were analysed separately. On a single Kato examination 42% were uninfected; the remainder had light (26%), moderate (21%), or heavy (11%) infections with Schistosoma mansoni. Hepatomegaly (53%) and palpable spleens (35%) were common but clinical and parasitological findings often were unrelated. Abdominal sonography also demonstrated a high frequency of hepatomegaly (82%) and splenomegaly (49%). Sonographically determined liver span and spleen size correlated with the egg count. Sonographic lesions of periportal fibrosis of schistosomiasis mansoni with thickening of portal tracts and portal vein walls were frequently present and more common in infected than in uninfected children, and were correlated with the number of S. mansoni ova in the stool. Ultrasonographically detected periportal fibrosis was a reliable measurement of the prevalence and morbidity of schistosomiasis mansoni in this population, and provided very useful information, even when the parasitological and clinical findings were equivocal.