title: Polyparasitism with Schistosoma mansoni, geohelminths, and intestinal protozoa in rural Côte d'Ivoire.
abstract: Single species infections with schistosomes, geohelminths, and intestinal protozoans are common over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and it is expected that polyparasitism affects a considerable proportion of the population, hence posing a great toll on public health. However, few investigations have been carried out to quantify the extent of polyparasitism. Here, a detailed assessment is reported for the epidemiology of Schistosoma mansoni, geohelminths, and intestinal protozoan infections, with particular emphasis on polyparasitism among 260 community members in rural Cĵte d'Ivoire. Schistosoma mansoni, Entamoeba coli, and hookworm were the predominant species with prevalences of 71.5, 64.6, and 51.9%, respectively. Only 8 individuals displayed no infection, whereas two-thirds of the population harbored 3 or more parasites concurrently. There were a series of significant pairwise parasite co-occurrences, e.g., between S. mansoni and hookworms and between S. mansoni and E. coli. It is concluded that polyparasitism in the population studied here was very common, which is probably the case also in other areas of rural Cĵte d'Ivoire and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa. These findings call for integrated approaches to effectively control multiple parasitic and protozoan infections.
authors.affiliation: Office of Population Research, Princeton University, New Jersey 08544, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Keiser
authors.forename: Eliézer K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: N'Goran
authors.forename: Mahamadou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Traoré
authors.forename: Kouassi L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Lohourignon
authors.forename: Burton H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lengeler
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanner
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Utzinger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire / Q000453:epidemiology; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D011715:Pyrantel / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012424:Rural Population; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000254:growth & development*; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D011715:Pyrantel; D011223:Praziquantel