West Nile Virus Economic Impact, Louisiana, 2002

2002 WNV epidemic in Louisiana incurred substantial short-term economic cost

Community participation for malaria elimination in tafea province, vanuatu: part ii. social and cultural aspects of treatment-seeking behaviour

Background: Early diagnosis and prompt effective case management are important components of any malaria elimination strategy. Tafea Province, Vanuatu has a rich history of traditional practices and beliefs, which have been integrated with missionary efforts and the introduction of modern constructions of health. Gaining a detailed knowledge of community perceptions of malarial symptomatology and treatment-seeking behaviours is essential in guiding effective community participation strategies for malaria control and elimination

High Risk Behaviours and Schistosomiasis Infection in Kumba, South-West Province, Cameroon

Kumba, a town with a population of mixed background and socio-economic status, is a new and intense focus of schistosomiasis. Although fountains provide clean water, the population still uses the river and streams which cross the town for most of its bathing, laundry and swimming activities. A multivariate analysis indicated that a local subject’s age, ethnic group, knowledge about schistomiasis and the intensity of his or her contact with the river and/or stream were all significantly associated with schistosome infection. Surprisingly, a high level of knowledge about schistosomiasis was positively associated with the infection. The potential risk of schistosome infection from water contact shows that; the younger age groups are at relatively high risk and male are at more risk than females. In terms of knowledge about schistosomiasis those aged 15-19 years had the highest means score and those aged >44 years the lowest, with males having a significantly higher knowledge than females. Age, as expected and as observed in most schistosomiasis surveys, was a major determinant of schistosomiasis infection. At similar level of exposure children are more susceptible to schistosomiasis probably because they lack the immunity built up in the adults as a result of previous infections. Most surface-water contact by the children, the group most affected by schistosomiasis, occurs during playing and swimming. It is unlikely that health education will have a significant impact on this recreational high-risk behaviour

An in-depth analysis of a piece of shit : distribution of Schistosoma mansoni and hookworm eggs in human stool

BACKGROUND: An accurate diagnosis of helminth infection is important to improve patient management. However, there is considerable intra- and inter-specimen variation of helminth egg counts in human feces. Homogenization of stool samples has been suggested to improve diagnostic accuracy, but there are no detailed investigations. Rapid disintegration of hookworm eggs constitutes another problem in epidemiological surveys. We studied the spatial distribution of Schistosoma mansoni and hookworm eggs in stool samples, the effect of homogenization, and determined egg counts over time in stool samples stored under different conditions. METHODOLOGY: Whole-stool samples were collected from 222 individuals in a rural part of south Cote d'Ivoire. Samples were cut into four pieces and helminth egg locations from the front to the back and from the center to the surface were analyzed. Some samples were homogenized and fecal egg counts (FECs) compared before and after homogenization. The effect of stool storing methods on FECs was investigated over time, comparing stool storage on ice, covering stool samples with a water-soaked tissue, or keeping stool samples in the shade. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found no clear spatial pattern of S. mansoni and hookworm eggs in fecal samples. Homogenization decreased S. mansoni FECs (p = 0.026), while no effect was observed for hookworm and other soil-transmitted helminths. Hookworm FECs decreased over time. Storing stool samples on ice or covered with a moist tissue slowed down hookworm egg decay (p>0.005). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings have important implications for helminth diagnosis at the individual patient level and for epidemiological surveys, anthelmintic drug efficacy studies and monitoring of control programs. Specifically, homogenization of fecal samples is recommended for an accurate detection of S. mansoni eggs, while keeping collected stool samples cool and moist delayed the disintegration of hookworm egg

Urogenital schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) in Cameroon: An epidemiological update at Barombi Mbo and Barombi Kotto crater lakes assessing prospects for intensified control interventions

© The Author(s). 2017 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached file is the published version of the article

The impact of single versus mixed schistosome species infections on liver, spleen and bladder morbidity within Malian children pre- and post-praziquantel treatment

Abstract Background: In the developing world co-infections and polyparasitism within humans appear to be the rule rather than the exception, be it any combination of inter-specific and/or inter- and intra-Genera mixed infections. Mixed infections might generate synergistic or antagonistic interactions and thereby clinically affect individuals and/or impact parasite epidemiology. Methods: The current study uniquely assesses both Schistosoma mansoni- and Schistosoma haematobium-related morbidity of the liver and the bladder as assessed by ultrasound as well as spleen and liver morbidity through clinical exams. The impact of praziquantel (PZQ) treatment on such potential inter-specific schistosome interactions and resulting morbidity using uniquely detailed longitudinal data (pre- and one year post-PZQ treatment) arising from the National Schistosomiasis Control Program in three areas of Mali: Ségou, Koulikoro and Bamako, is also evaluated. At baseline, data were collected from up to 2196 children (aged 7-14 years), 844 of which were infected with S. haematobium only, 124 with S. mansoni only and 477 with both. Follow-up data were collected from up to 1265 children. Results: Results suggested lower liver morbidity in mixed compared to single S. mansoni infections and higher bladder morbidity in mixed compared to single S. haematobium infections. Single S. haematobium or S. mansoni infections were also associated with liver and spleen morbidity whilst only single S. haematobium infections were associated with bladder morbidity in these children (light S. haematobium infection OR: 4.3, p < 0.001 and heavy S. haematobium infection OR: 19, p < 0.001). PZQ treatment contributed to the regression of some of the forms of such morbidities. Conclusions: Whilst the precise biological mechanisms for these observations remain to be ascertained, the results illustrate the importance of considering mixed species infections in any analyses of parasite-induced morbidity, including that for the proposed Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) revised estimates of schistosomiasis morbidity