Prevalence of Schistosomiasis among Children Less than 18 Years in Kilosa District, Tanzania: A 3-Year Retrospective Review

Schistosomiasis is a public health problem in Tanzania. However, in the past 15 years, mass drug administration (MDA) targeting school children has remained the mainstay for its control. Despite preventive chemotherapy for schistosomiasis in school children, the prevalence of schistosomiasis in children aged 5-17 years in Kilosa district over a 3-year period has not been reported. This study determined the prevalence of schistosomiasis among children in Kilosa district.

A retrospective study was conducted using laboratory data records from the record books of selected health facilities in four wards of Kilosa District. Samples of urine and stool submitted by young children to the laboratories of health facilities between 2014 and 2016 were recorded.

A total of 702 samples were collected from the laboratory records books involving their age, sex and schistosome species. Of the 702 individuals, 541 were examined for urinary schistosomiasis and 161 for intestinal schistosomiasis; 31 (5.7%) were infected with S. haematobium and 11 (6.8%) with S. mansoni respectively.

However, the overall prevalence of schistosomiasis in the study area was 6.27%. Among males, the prevalence of S. haematobium was 1.00% and S. mansoni was 2.35% while among females, the prevalence of S. haematobium was 3.96% and S. mansoni was 1.00%. Children aged 13-17 years were infected with both species, with S. haematobium at 5.11% and S. mansoni at 1.99%. Ruhembe Ward had the highest prevalence of both species, with S. haematobium at 8.62% and S. mansoni at 5.17%. The findings confirm that schistosomiasis is a public health problem in the district. Therefore, it is recommended that mass drug administration should be carried out in the district.