Uganda: 24-month Follow-up Survey Following the Second Round of Deworming Treatment in Busia & Bugiri
From 28th
February to 14th March 2005, Dr Yaobi Zhang (Field Programme
Co-ordinator) and Miss Fiona Fleming (Country Programme Manager) visited
Busia and Bugiri districts - Lake Victoria region of Uganda - to join forces
with the Vector Control Division field team in the 24-month follow-up
surveillance and monitoring activities after the second round of mass
schistosomiasis and deworming treatment in the region. The VCD campaign in
Busia and Bugiri Districts was launched in February/March 2003.
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Two rounds
of treatment with both praziquantel and albendazole have since been given to
the school aged children and the adults in communities where there was a
high (>50%) prevalence of schistosome infection. The purpose of current
visit was a) to reinforce the awareness among the children of this
particular health problem and the control and b) to monitor what effect the
2 rounds of treatment programme had achieved so far in improving the
children’s health.
The
SCI-VCD team spent two weeks in the districts and visited 10 primary schools
and 3 communities. About 1200 school children and 300 community adults were
examined for their Bilharzia (schistosome) infection and other intestinal
helminth infections, (hookworm, ascaris and trichuris). They were also
examined for any bilharzia-related morbidity by ultrasonography. The
preliminary analysis showed that 2 rounds of treatment have had a great
impact on these infections in the population, reducing the prevalence by
over 50%. Further detailed analysis will show to what extent the children’s
health has been improved. The information gathered will also be used to
adjust the future treatment strategy.