Schistosoma haematobium in Guinea-Bissau: unacknowledged morbidity due to a particularly neglected parasite in a particularly neglected country

• Published in: Parasitology research (1987) Vol. 115; no. 4; pp. 1567 - 1572
• Main Authors: Botelho, Monica C., Machado, Ana, Carvalho, André, Vilaça, Manuela, Conceição, Orquídea, Rosa, Fernanda, Alves, Helena, Richter, Joachim, Bordalo, Adriano Agostinho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2016; Springer
• Subjects: Adolescent; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Child; Female; Geography; Guinea-Bissau - epidemiology; Health aspects; Host-bacteria relationships; Humans; Immunology; Male; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; Morbidity; Neglected Diseases; Nutritional Status; Original Paper; Pilot Projects; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Schistosoma; Schistosoma haematobium; Schistosoma haematobium - isolation & purification; Schistosomiasis haematobia - epidemiology; Schistosomiasis haematobia - parasitology; Statistics; Guinea-Bissau; Guinea; Schistosomiasis; Guinea-Bissau; Nutrition status; Hematuria; Unacknowledged morbidity; Stunting wasting; Schistosoma haematobium
• ISSN: 0932-0113; 1432-1955
• DOI: 10.1007/s00436-015-4891-3

Schistosomiasis is the major neglected tropical helminthic disease worldwide. Current knowledge on the epidemiology of schistosomiasis in Guinea-Bissau is scarce and regarding to the absence of Schistosoma haematobium (S.h.). Therefore, a pilot study was undertaken to assess the prevalence and morbidity due to S.h. infection in randomly selected 90 children and adolescents aged 6 to 15 years. Prevalence of S.h. infection was 20.00 % (18/90). Microhematuria was observed in 61.11 % (11/18) of S.h.-egg-excreting vs. 37.50 % (27/72) of non-S.h.-egg-excreting children p ≤ 0.01. Body mass index (BMI) was less than 15 kg/m² in 52/90 (57.78 %) of all children and adolescents, but this proportion increased to 66.67 % (12/18) in S.h.-infected children who were more frequently stunted and wasted than in non-infected children. The mean weight-for-age Z score (WAZ) was reduced in S.h. infected as compared to non-infected children (−1.48 ± 1.08 SD vs. −0.80 ± 1.11 SD; p ≤ 0.01). To our knowledge, this is the first epidemiologic report on S. haematobium infection in Guinea-Bissau since 22 years. Even in this relatively small study sample, it appears that S. haematobium, besides the well-known symptoms such as hematuria, leads to significant, albeit commonly unacknowledged morbidity such as stunting and wasting. These observations underscore the notion that this vulnerable but neglected population urgently needs to be targeted for implementation of measures for treatment and control.