title: Water-contact patterns in relation to Schistosoma haematobium infection.
abstract: Water-contact observations were carried out on a population exposed to Schistosoma haematobium in a village situated on a man-made lake, Lake Volta, Ghana.The observations were made over a period of 12 months prior to the introduction of control measures. A multiple regression analysis was performed on the results of observations on 132 individuals, with egg output as the dependent variable and various types of water-contact activity, as well as age and sex, as independent variables. In the analysis, specific activities, notably water-contact for domestic purposes and activities associated with fishermen's canoes, were found to be significantly related to schistosomiasis. Age was less important than degree of exposure as a contributory factor to variations in infection rates: the reduced intensity of infection of S. haematobium in the older age groups could be mainly due to a lower level of exposure to the cercarial population.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012548:Schistosoma haematobium; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000635:transmission*; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water