Integrated prevalence mapping of schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis and malaria in lakeside and island communities in Lake Victoria, Uganda

A total of 203 communities were surveyed, including over 5000 school-age children. Varying levels of existing health infrastructure were observed between districts, with only Jinja District regularly treating people for NTDs. Community medicine distributors (CMD) were identified and trained in drug delivery to strengthen capacity. Prevalence levels of intestinal schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis were assessed via Kato-Katz thick smears of stool and malaria prevalence determined by microscopy of fingerprick blood samples. Prevalence levels were 40.8%, 26.04% and 46.4%, respectively, while the prevalence of co-infection by Schistosoma mansoni and Plasmodium spp. was 23.5%. Socio-economic status was strongly associated as a risk factor for positive infection status with one or more of these diseases.These results emphasise the challenges of providing wide-scale coverage of health infrastructure and drug distribution in remote lakeshore communities. The data further indicate that co-infections with malaria and NTDs are common, implying that integrated interventions for NTDs and malaria are likely to maximize cost-effectiveness and sustainability of disease control efforts.There has been a recent renewed global interest to control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which include intestinal schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) [1,2]. This focus is timely given the huge burdens these parasites place on many populations, particularly in Africa. Moreover, the distribution of intestinal helminthes often overlaps with that of Plasmodium falciparum, the pathogenic agent causing the bulk of the world's fatal malaria cases [3]. While malaria control has received significant investments in the last decade which has resulted in significant disease burden reductions [4], the burden of NTDs in most African countries is little known. In Uganda, schistosomiasis mainly occurs around the large lakes and rivers, including Lake Victoria, affecting appr