title: Spatial patterns of urinary schistosomiasis infection in a highly endemic area of coastal Kenya.
abstract: Urinary schistosomiasis remains a major contributor to the disease burden along the southern coast of Kenya. Selective identification of transmission hot spots offers the potential for more effective, highly-focal snail control and human chemotherapy to reduce Schistosoma haematobium transmission. In the present study, a geographic information system was used to integrate demographic, parasitologic, and household location data for an endemic village and neighboring households with the biotic, abiotic, and location data for snail collection/water contact sites. A global spatial statistic was used to detect area-wide trends of clustering for human infection at the household level. Local spatial statistics were then applied to detect specific household clusters of infection, and, as a focal spatial statistic, to evaluate clustering of infection around a putative transmission site. High infection intensities were clustered significantly around a water contact site with high numbers of snails shedding S. haematobium cercariae. When age was considered, clustering was found to be significant at different distances for different age groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61802, USA. jaclenno@uiuc.edu
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Clennon
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Muchiri
authors.forename: H Curtis
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kariuki
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ouma
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mungai
authors.forename: Uriel
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kitron
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002033:Bulinus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000469:parasitology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D017215:Satellite Communications; D012548:Schistosoma haematobium / Q000254:growth & development*; D012553:Schistosomiasis haematobia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D012737:Sex Factors; D014867:Water / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D014867:Water