The burden of polyparasitism among primary schoolchildren in rural and farming areas in Zimbabwe

Midzi, N.; Sangweme, D.; Zinyowera, S.; Mapingure, M.P.; Brouwer, K.C.; Munatsi, A.; Mutapi, F.; Mudzori, J.; Kumar, N.; Woelk, G.; Mduluza, T.

doi:10.1016/j.trstmh.2008.05.024

« Previous Next »Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 102, Issue 10 , Pages 1039-1045, October 2008

The burden of polyparasitism among primary schoolchildren in rural and farming areas in Zimbabwe

N. Midzi
- National Institute of Health Research, Box CY 573, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe
D. Sangweme
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Baltimore, MD, USA
S. Zinyowera
- College of Health Sciences, Department of Medical Microbiology, P.O. Box A178, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe
M.P. Mapingure
- University of Zimbabwe, Department of Biochemistry, P.O. Box MP167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
K.C. Brouwer
- University of California, San Diego, Division of International Health and Cross Cultural Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA
A. Munatsi
- National Institute of Health Research, Box CY 573, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe
F. Mutapi
- University of Edinburgh, Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, Edinburgh, UK
J. Mudzori
- National Microbiology Reference Laboratory, P.O. Box ST749, Southerton, Zimbabwe
N. Kumar
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Baltimore, MD, USA
G. Woelk
- University of Zimbabwe, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Continuing Health Science, Harare, Zimbabwe
T. Mduluza
- University of Zimbabwe, Department of Biochemistry, P.O. Box MP167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +263 04 334052; fax: +263 04 333407.

Received 10 February 2008; received in revised form 28 May 2008; accepted 28 May 2008.

Summary

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Zimbabwe among 1303 primary schoolchildren from a rural (53.3%) and a commercial farming area (46.7%) to determine the prevalence of co-infection by helminths and Plasmodium falciparum. Urine was examined on three successive days using the filtration method. Two stool specimens were processed using the Kato-Katz method and a third specimen was processed using the sedimentation method. Plasmodium falciparum was diagnosed from thick blood films. The prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium in the rural and farming areas was 66.8% and 52.3%, respectively, and for S. mansoni the prevalence was 12.4% and 22.7%, respectively. Plasmodium falciparum, hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura occurred only in the farming area, with a prevalence of 27.9%, 23.7%, 2.1%, 2.3%, respectively. Co-infection and triple infection with schistosomes, P. falciparum and soil-transmitted helminths occurred in the commercial farming area only. Hookworm and S. mansoni infections were associated with P. falciparum malaria (P<0.001, OR=2.48, 95% CI 1.56–3.93 and P=0.005, OR=1.85, 95% CI 1.20–2.87, respectively). Overlap of helminths with malaria is a concern among primary schoolchildren and incorporating helminth control in programmes aiming to control malaria will improve funding and increase the efficiency of control for neglected tropical diseases in identified co-endemic settings.