DISTRIBUTION OF SCHISTOSOMIASIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGBOVILLE IN SOUTH-EASTERN COTE D IVOIRE

Bilharzia and intestinal worms are public health problems in Cote dIvoire. The health authorities are trying to control these diseases. However, it is difficult to identify outbreaks. This study was therefore initiated for this purpose. The objective was to assess the prevalence of these parasites, to map outbreaks of bilharzia and to determine the nature of the biotopes in which these diseases develop. The study was carried out in the department of Agboville. It consisted of researching high-risk households by means of a questionnaire. Parasitological examinations of urine by filtration and of stools by Kato-katz were carried out on 50 pupils per school per locality in 30 localities to find out the real prevalence of the outbreaks. A questionnaire was used to detect the nature of potential transmission sites.A total of 16.740 pupils were interviewed. Of these, 4.377 reported having urinary bilharzia and 5.542 reported blood in the urine. The urine of 1.503 pupils were examined, 26.2% of pupils had Schistosoma haematobium and 40% of the schools were hyperendemic. Schools with moderate or low prevalence were less than 10. 3.084 reported intestinal bilharzia compared to 4.361 cases of blood in the stool. A total of 693 pupils had at least one parasite. The pupils were infected with five different intestinal parasites. Both urinary (26.16%) and intestinal (15.01%) bilharziasis were very important in the department, rivers and marigots were the most at risk environments as they were present in 61.5% of the localities with hyperendemic foci.