Skip to main content
Bulletin of the World Health Organization logoLink to Bulletin of the World Health Organization
. 1980;58(4):639–647.

Advances in epidemiology survey methodology and techniques in schistosomiasis

K E Mott, B L Cline
PMCID: PMC2395931  PMID: 6969136

Abstract

Quantitative techniques are now recognized to contribute to the validity and comparability of data from epidemiological studies in schistosomiasis. These methods have been developed and tested in field investigations in areas where Schistosoma mansoni is endemic and, to a lesser extent, S. haematobium endemic areas. Carefully planned epidemiological investigations using standardized and quantitative methods have contributed to our understanding of the relationships between intensity of infection and morbidity, as well as to the development of improved control strategies relevant to these areas. This article reviews the newer parasitological techniques, methods of morbidity assessment, and data analysis procedures employed in current epidemiological studies in schistosomiasis, as well as the analytical questions involved in research on the epidemiology of schistosomiasis.

Full text

PDF
644

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abdel-Salam E., Abdel-Fattah M. Prevalence and morbidity of Schistosoma haematobium in Egyptian children. A controlled study. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1977 May;26(3):463–469. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1977.26.463. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Arap Siongok T. K., Mahmoud A. A., Ouma J. H., Warren K. S., Muller A. S., Handa A. K., Houser H. B. Morbidity in Schistosomiasis mansoni in relation to intensity of infection: study of a community in Machakos, Kenya. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1976 Mar;25(2):273–284. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1976.25.273. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BELL D. R. A NEW METHOD FOR COUNTING SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI EGGS IN FAECES: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THERAPEUTIC TRIALS. Bull World Health Organ. 1963;29:525–530. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Barbosa F. S., Voss H. Evolution of the clinical gradient of Schistosoma mansoni infection in a small town in north-eastern Brazil. Bull World Health Organ. 1969;40(6):966–969. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Barreto M. L., Silva J. T., Mott K. E., Lehman J. S., Jr Stability of faecal egg excretion in Schistosoma mansoni infection. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1978;72(2):181–187. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(78)90056-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bartholomew R. K., Goddard M. J. Quality control in laboratory investigations on Schistosoma mansoni on St Lucia, West Indies: a staff assessment scheme. Bull World Health Organ. 1978;56(2):309–312. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Bradley D. J. Modified apparatus for parasite filtration. Bull World Health Organ. 1968;38(5):828–832. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Bradley D. J. The measurement of bilharziasis prevalence and schistosomal egg output. Aims and techniques, with an account of a field method. Bull World Health Organ. 1965;33(4):503–508. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Chaia G., Chaia A. B., McAullife J., Katz N., Gasper D. Coprological diagnosis of schistosomiasis. II. Comparative study of quantitative methods. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 1968 Nov-Dec;10(6):349–353. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Cline B. L., Rymzo W. T., Hiatt R. A., Knight W. B., Berríos-Duran L. A. Morbidity from Schistosoma mansoni in a Puerto Rican community: a population-based study. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1977 Jan;26(1):109–117. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1977.26.109. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Cook J. A., Baker S. T., Warren K. S., Jordan P. A controlled study of morbidity of schistosomiasis mansoni in St. Lucian children, based on quantitative egg excretion. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1974 Jul;23(4):625–633. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1974.23.625. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Cook J. A., Jordan P., Bartholomew R. K. Control of Schistosoma mansoni transmission by chemotherapy in St. Lucia. I. Results in man. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1977 Sep;26(5 Pt 1):887–893. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1977.26.887. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Dalton P. R. A socioecological approach to the control of Schistosoma mansoni in St Lucia. Bull World Health Organ. 1976;54(5):587–595. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Dalton P. R., Pole D. Water-contact patterns in relation to Schistosoma haematobium infection. Bull World Health Organ. 1978;56(3):417–426. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Davis A. Comparative trials of antimonial drugs in urinary schistosomiasis. Bull World Health Organ. 1968;38(2):197–227. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Dazo B. C., Biles J. E. Two new field techniques for detection and counting of Schistosoma haematobium eggs in urine samples, with an evaluation of both methods. Bull World Health Organ. 1974;51(4):399–408. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. El Alamy M. A., Cline B. L. Prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni infection in Qalyub, Egypt. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1977 May;26(3):470–472. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1977.26.470. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Farooq M., Hairston N. G. The epidemiology of Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni infections in the Egypt-49 project area. 4. Measurement of the incidence of bilharziasis. Bull World Health Organ. 1966;35(3):331–338. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Gilles H. M., Abdel-Aziz Zaki A., Soussa M. H., Samaan S. A., Soliman Soliman S., Hassan A., Barbosa F. Results of a seven year snail control project on the endemicity of Schistosoma haematobium infection in Egypt. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1973 Mar;67(1):45–65. doi: 10.1080/00034983.1973.11686862. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Gilles H. M., Lucas A., Lindner R., Cockshott W. P., Anand S. V., Ikeme, Cowper S. G. Schistosoma haematobium infection in Nigeria. 3. Infection in boatyard workers at Epe. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1965 Dec;59(4):451–456. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Gremillion D. H., Geckler R. W., Kuntz R. E., Marraro R. V. Schistosomiasis in Saudi Arabian recruits. A morbidity study based on quantitative egg excretion. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1978 Sep;27(5):924–927. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1978.27.924. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Hamburger J., Pelley R. P., Warren K. S. Schistoma mansoni soluble egg antigens: determination of the stage and species specificity of their serologic reactivity by radioimmunoassay. J Immunol. 1976 Nov;117(5 Pt 1):1561–1566. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Hedman P., Bengtsson E. A 13-year follow-up of antimony-treated Schistosoma mansoni-infected patients. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1977 Jul;26(4):693–695. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1977.26.693. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Hiatt R. A., Cline B. L., Knight W. B. Limitations of the intradermal test for schistosomiasis mansoni: experience from epidemiologic studies in a Puerto Rican community. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1978 May;27(3):535–541. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1978.27.535. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Hiatt R. A., Gebre-Medhin M. Morbidity from Schistosoma mansoni infections: an epidemiologic study based on quantitative analysis of egg excretion in Ethiopian children. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1977 May;26(3):473–481. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1977.26.473. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Jordan P., Barnish G., Bartholomew R. K., Grist E., Christie J. D. Evaluation of an experimental mollusciciding programme to control Schistosoma mansoni transmission in St Lucia. Bull World Health Organ. 1978;56(1):139–146. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Jordan P., Woodstock L., Cook J. A. Preliminary parasitological results of a pilot mollusciciding campaign to control transmission of Schistosoma mansoni in St Lucia. Bull World Health Organ. 1976;54(3):295–302. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Katz N., Chaia G. Coprological diagnosis of schistosomiasis. I. Evaluation of quantitative techniques. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 1968 Sep-Oct;10(5):295–298. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Katz N., Chaves A., Pellegrino J. A simple device for quantitative stool thick-smear technique in Schistosomiasis mansoni. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 1972 Nov-Dec;14(6):397–400. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Katz N., Zicker F., Rocha R. S., Oliveira V. B. Re-infection of patients in schistosomiasis mansoni endemic areas after specific treatment. I--influence of age and worm burden. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 1978 Sep-Oct;20(5):273–278. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Kelsoe G. H., Weller T. H. Immunodiagnosis of infection with Schistosoma mansoni: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibody to circulating antigen. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Nov;75(11):5715–5717. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.11.5715. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Klumpp R. K., Chu K. Y. Ecological studies of Bulinus rohlfsi, the intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium in the Volta Lake. Bull World Health Organ. 1977;55(6):715–730. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Knight W. B., Hiatt R. A., Cline B. L., Ritchie L. S. A modification of the formol-ether concentration technique for increased sensitivity in detecting Schistosoma mansoni eggs. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1976 Nov;25(6):818–823. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1976.25.818. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Lehman J. S., Jr, Mott K. E., De Souza C. A., Leboreiro O., Muniz T. M. The association of Schistosomiasis mansoni and proteinuria in an endemic area. A preliminary report. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1975 Jul;24(4):616–618. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1975.24.616. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Lehman J. S., Jr, Mott K. E., Morrow R. H., Jr, Muniz T. M., Boyer M. H. The intensity and effects of infection with Schistosoma mansoni in a rural community in northeast Brazil. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1976 Mar;25(2):285–294. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1976.25.285. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Martin L. K., Beaver P. C. Evaluation of Kato thick-smear technique for quantitative diagnosis of helminth infections. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1968 May;17(3):382–391. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1968.17.382. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. McCullough F. S., Bradley D. J. Egg output stability and the epidemiology of Schistosoma haematobium. I. Variation and stability in Schistosoma haematobium egg counts. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1973;67(4):475–490. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(73)90079-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. McLaren M., Draper C. C., Roberts J. M., Minter-Goedbloed E., Ligthart G. S., Teesdale C. H., Amin M. A., Omer A. H., Bartlett A., Voller A. Studies on the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test for Schistosoma mansoni infections. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1978 Jun;72(3):243–253. doi: 10.1080/00034983.1978.11719312. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Omer A. H., Hamilton P. J., Marshall T. F., Draper C. C. Infection with Schistosoma mansoni in the Gezire area of the Sudan. J Trop Med Hyg. 1976 Jul;79(7):151–157. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Ongom V. L., Bradley D. J. The epidemiology and consequences of Schistosoma mansoni infection in West Nile, Uganda. I. Field studies of a community at Panyagoro. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1972;66(6):835–851. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(72)90118-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Pelley R. P., Warren K. S., Jordan P. Purified antigen radioimmunoassay in serological diagnosis of schistosomiasis mansoni. Lancet. 1977 Oct 15;2(8042):781–785. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(77)90722-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Peters P. A., Mahmoud A. A., Warren K. S., Ouma J. H., Siongok T. K. Field studies of a rapid, accurate means of quantifying Schistosoma haematobium eggs in urine samples. Bull World Health Organ. 1976;54(2):159–162. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Pugh R. N., Gilles H. M. Malumfashi Endemic Diseases Research Project, III. Urinary schistosomiasis: a longitudinal study. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1978 Oct;72(5):471–482. doi: 10.1080/00034983.1978.11719347. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Pugh R. N., Jakubowski A. W., Gilles H. M. Malumfashi Endemic Diseases Research Project, VI. Urinary schistosomiasis: abnormal urograms in infected males from the Malumfashi study area, northern Nigeria. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1979 Feb;73(1):37–44. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Ruiz-Tiben E., Hillyer G. V., Knight W. B., Gómez de Rios I., Woodall J. P. Intensity of infection with Schistosoma mansoni: its relationship to the sensitivity and specificity of serologic tests. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1979 Mar;28(2):230–236. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1979.28.230. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. SCOTT J. A., STIMMEL C. M. The regularity of egg output of Schistosoma haematobium. Tex Rep Biol Med. 1956;14(4):440–458. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Sullivan S., Krasner N., Williams R. The clinical estimation of liver size: a comparison of techniques and an analysis of the source of error. Br Med J. 1976 Oct 30;2(6043):1042–1043. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6043.1042. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Teesdale C. H., Amin M. A. Comparison of the Bell technique, a modified Kato thick smear technique, and a digestion method for the field diagnosis of schistosomiasis mansoni. J Helminthol. 1976 Mar;50(1):17–20. doi: 10.1017/s0022149x00028777. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Warren K. S., Mahmoud A. A., Cummings P., Murphy D. J., Houser H. B. Schistosomiasis mansoni in Yemeni in California: duration of infection, presence of disease, therapeutic management. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1974 Sep;23(5):902–909. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1974.23.902. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Warren K. S., Mahmoud A. A. Targeted mass treatment: a new approach to the control of schistosomiasis. Trans Assoc Am Physicians. 1976;89:195–204. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Wilkins H. A., Capron A. Schistosoma haematobium in a Gambian community. IV. Antibody levels and change in egg output. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1977 Jun;71(2):187–195. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Wilkins H. A., El-Sawy M. Schistosoma haematobium egg counts in a Nile delta community. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1977;71(6):486–489. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(77)90139-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Wilkins H. A., Goll P., Marshall T. F., Moore P. The significance of proteinuria and haematuria in Schistosoma haematobium infection. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1979;73(1):74–80. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(79)90134-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Wilkins H. A. Schistosoma haematobium in a Gambian community. I. The intensity and prevalence of infection. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1977 Mar;71(1):53–58. doi: 10.1080/00034983.1977.11687161. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Wilkins H. A. Schistosoma haematobium in a Gambian community. III. The prevalence of bacteriuria and of hypertension. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1977 Jun;71(2):179–186. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. Wilkins H. A., Scott A. Variation and stability in Schistosoma haematobium egg counts: A four-year study of Gambian children. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1978;72(4):39,-404. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(78)90135-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  57. Woodstock L., Cook J. A., Peters P. A., Warren K. S. Random distribution of schistosome eggs in the feces of patients with Schistosomiasis mansoni. J Infect Dis. 1971 Dec;124(6):613–614. doi: 10.1093/infdis/124.6.613. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Bulletin of the World Health Organization are provided here courtesy of World Health Organization

RESOURCES