High Prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni in Six Health Areas of – Kasansa Health Zone, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Short Report

School-aged children suffer the most from schistosomiasis infection in sub Saharan Africa due to poverty and limited sanitary conditions. Mapping of disease burden is recommended and there is a need of updating prevalence data which is as old as 20 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo. An epidemiological and parasitological study was carried out in 2011 in the health zone of Kasansa. Six health areas (HA) were included in the study. In each health area, one primary school was selected. School-aged children were screened for S. mansoni infection using parallel Kato-Katz and direct microscopy techniques. A total of 335 school-aged children were screened. The average prevalence was 82.7% and ranged between 59.5–94.9%. Four of the six HAs had a prevalence level over 91%. Of all infected children, about half 112 (43.2%) had light parasite density. These results demonstrate that Schistosoma mansoni infection is a bigger problem than anticipated and there is an urgent need to implement effective control measures.在撒哈拉以南非洲，由于贫困与卫生条件受限，学龄儿童是血吸虫病（schistosomiasis）感染受影响最为严重的群体。目前学界建议开展疾病负担测绘工作，同时刚果民主共和国境内已有长达20年未更新的流行率数据亟待更新完善。本研究于2011年在卡桑萨（Kasansa）卫生区开展了一项流行病学与寄生虫学调查，共纳入6个卫生片区（health areas，简称HA）。每个卫生片区均选取1所小学作为调查点，采用平行加藤-卡特（Kato-Katz）法与直接显微镜检查技术，对学龄儿童开展曼氏血吸虫（Schistosoma mansoni）感染筛查，累计筛查学龄儿童335名。本次调查的整体平均流行率为82.7%，各片区流行率区间为59.5%至94.9%；其中6个卫生片区中有4个的流行率超过91%。在所有感染儿童中，约112名（占比43.2%）寄生虫载量偏轻。上述结果表明，曼氏血吸虫感染的实际问题规模远超此前预期，亟需落实有效的防控措施。