%0 Journal Article
%T Patterns of Schistosoma haematobium infection, impact of praziquantel treatment and re-infection after treatment in a cohort of schoolchildren from rural KwaZulu-Natal/South Africa
%A Elmar Saathoff
%A Annette Olsen
%A Pascal Magnussen
%A Jane D Kvalsvig
%A Wilhelm Becker
%A Chris C Appleton
%J BMC Infectious Diseases
%D 2004
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2334-4-40
%X Primary schoolchildren from Maputaland in northern KwaZulu-Natal were examined for Schistosoma haematobium infection, treated with praziquantel and re-examined four times over one year after treatment in order to assess the impact of treatment and patterns of infection and re-infection.Praziquantel treatment was highly efficacious at three weeks after treatment when judged by egg reduction rate (95.3%) and cure rate of heavy infections (94.1%). The apparent overall cure rate three weeks after treatment (57.9%) was much lower but improved to 80.7% at 41 weeks after treatment. Re-infection with S. haematobium was low and appeared to be limited to the hot and rainy summer. Analysis of only one urine specimen per child considerably underestimated prevalence when compared to the analysis of two specimens, but both approaches provided similar estimates of the proportion of heavy infections and of average infection intensity in the population.According to WHO guidelines the high prevalence and intensity of S. haematobium infection necessitate regular treatment of schoolchildren in the area. The seasonal transmission pattern together with the slow pace of re-infection suggest that one treatment per year, applied after the end of summer, is sufficient to keep S. haematobium infection in the area at low levels.Schistosomiasis is one of the major health problems in tropical and sub-tropical countries [1]. The schistosomiasis endemic area in South Africa is situated in the north-east and covers roughly one quarter of the country, with Schistosoma haematobium being the most common species [2]. In 1995 it was estimated that more than four million South Africans were infected with schistosomes [3].Possible consequences of S. haematobium infection include haematuria, dysuria, nutritional deficiencies, lesions of the bladder, kidney failure, an elevated risk of bladder cancer and ¨C in children ¨C growth retardation. Accordingly the estimates for morbidity and mortality in affected po
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/4/40