Elimination of schistosomiasis transmission in Zanzibar: baseline findings before the onset of a randomized intervention trial.

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Gaining and sustaining control of schistosomiasis and, whenever feasible, achieving local elimination are the year 2020 targets set by the World Health Organization. In Zanzibar, various institutions and stakeholders have joined forces to eliminate urogenital schistosomiasis within 5 years. We report baseline findings before the onset of a randomized intervention trial designed to assess the differential impact of community-based praziquantel administration, snail control, and behavior change interventions.

Related collections

Most cited references 38

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Schistosomiasis and water resources development: systematic review, meta-analysis, and estimates of people at risk.

Peter Steinmann, Jennifer Keiser, Robert Bos … (2006)

An estimated 779 million people are at risk of schistosomiasis, of whom 106 million (13.6%) live in irrigation schemes or in close proximity to large dam reservoirs. We identified 58 studies that examined the relation between water resources development projects and schistosomiasis, primarily in African settings. We present a systematic literature review and meta-analysis with the following objectives: (1) to update at-risk populations of schistosomiasis and number of people infected in endemic countries, and (2) to quantify the risk of water resources development and management on schistosomiasis. Using 35 datasets from 24 African studies, our meta-analysis showed pooled random risk ratios of 2.4 and 2.6 for urinary and intestinal schistosomiasis, respectively, among people living adjacent to dam reservoirs. The risk ratio estimate for studies evaluating the effect of irrigation on urinary schistosomiasis was in the range 0.02-7.3 (summary estimate 1.1) and that on intestinal schistosomiasis in the range 0.49-23.0 (summary estimate 4.7). Geographic stratification showed important spatial differences, idiosyncratic to the type of water resources development. We conclude that the development and management of water resources is an important risk factor for schistosomiasis, and hence strategies to mitigate negative effects should become integral parts in the planning, implementation, and operation of future water projects.

0 comments Cited 756 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Schistosomiasis and neglected tropical diseases: towards integrated and sustainable control and a word of caution.

J Utzinger, G. Raso, S. Brooker … (2009)

In May 2001, the World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution which urged member states to attain, by 2010, a minimum target of regularly administering anthelminthic drugs to at least 75% and up to 100% of all school-aged children at risk of morbidity. The refined global strategy for the prevention and control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis was issued in the following year and large-scale administration of anthelminthic drugs endorsed as the central feature. This strategy has subsequently been termed 'preventive chemotherapy'. Clearly, the 2001 WHA resolution led the way for concurrently controlling multiple neglected tropical diseases. In this paper, we recall the schistosomiasis situation in Africa in mid-2003. Adhering to strategic guidelines issued by the World Health Organization, we estimate the projected annual treatment needs with praziquantel among the school-aged population and critically discuss these estimates. The important role of geospatial tools for disease risk mapping, surveillance and predictions for resource allocation is emphasised. We clarify that schistosomiasis is only one of many neglected tropical diseases and that considerable uncertainties remain regarding global burden estimates. We examine new control initiatives targeting schistosomiasis and other tropical diseases that are often neglected. The prospect and challenges of integrated control are discussed and the need for combining biomedical, educational and engineering strategies and geospatial tools for sustainable disease control are highlighted. We conclude that, for achieving integrated and sustainable control of neglected tropical diseases, a set of interventions must be tailored to a given endemic setting and fine-tuned over time in response to the changing nature and impact of control. Consequently, besides the environment, the prevailing demographic, health and social systems contexts need to be considered.

0 comments Cited 168 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Schistosomiasis elimination: lessons from the past guide the future.

Robert Bergquist, J. Gray, Michelle Andrews … (2010)

Schistosomiasis is a major neglected tropical disease, with more than 200 million people infected and close to 800 million at risk. The disease burden is estimated to exceed 70 million disability-adjusted life-years. The anthelmintic drug praziquantel is highly effective in killing adult schistosome worms, but it is unable to kill developing schistosomes and so does not prevent reinfection. As a result, current praziquantel-based control programmes in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are not effective or sustainable in the long term. The control of neglected tropical diseases, including schistosomiasis, is a funding priority for several donor agencies, with over US$350 million committed until 2013. Here we put forward an argument that donor funds would be more effectively spent on the development of a multi-faceted, integrated control programme, which would have a greater and longer lasting effect on disease transmission than the current chemotherapy-based programmes. The development of a transmission-blocking vaccine is also of great importance. A multi-faceted integrated control programme that incorporates a vaccine, even if only partly effective, has the potential to eliminate schistosomiasis. This integrated-approach model has the potential to improve the health of a billion of the world's poorest people and its effect cannot be underestimated. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.