Prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis among school children with emphasis on the identification of the snail intermediate host – in Khartoum state

Abstract

A cross sectional study was conducted in Alklakla area near the White Nile from January to April 2011. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium among school children and snail – parasite compatibility. The study included 500urine sample collected randomly from targeted children (265 male and 235 female). The population was classified according to age group into two groups: less than 12 and 12-16 years. Also, the educational level of parents was classified into three levels :( low, medium and high) which corresponds to primary, secondary and graduated education levels respectively. The urine samples were examined for S.haematobium eggs by using sedimentation technique. The overall prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis was 0.6% (3 positive cases). All positive cases were males who showed direct contact with water and this showed a significant association between gender and contact with water to the rate of infection. In this study, 32 Bulinus snail were collected randomly from shores of the White Nile by scoping method and examined for shedding of cercaria. All the examined snails showed no cercarial shedding. The study concluded that the absence of infection in the studied snails (Bulinus) was the reason for the infection rate of S.haematobium in the study area.