Schistosoma mansoni infection among prenatal attendees at a secondary-care hospital in central Sudan.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the epidemiology of Schistosoma mansoni infection among pregnant women in a secondary-care hospital in Geizera state, Sudan.


METHODS
Between August and September 2010, a cross-sectional study was conducted and questionnaires were administered to obtain basic sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics of pregnant women attending prenatal care at Araba Waeshreen Hospital. Stool samples were investigated for helminth infection via formol-ether concentration and Kato-Katz techniques.


RESULTS
Of 292 pregnant women, 38 (13.0%) had S. mansoni infections. Hymenolepis nana and hookworm infections were present in 5 (1.7%) and 1 (0.3%) women, respectively. The intensity of the S. mansoni infection was light, moderate, and high in 13 (34.2%), 21 (55.3%), and 4 (10.5%) women, respectively. In multivariate analyses, parity, gestational age, and occupation were not associated with S. mansoni infection, unlike maternal age less than 20 years (odds ratio [OR] 9.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-16.3; P=0.01) and no education (OR 6.2; 95% CI, 2.8-12.9; P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
There was a high level of S. mansoni infection among pregnant women in the present setting, especially among younger women and those with no education. Control and preventive measures should be used in the area.
Faculty of Medicine, Ribat University, Khartoum, Sudan.
Abelrahman
A
Khalid
Mohamed A
MA
Abdelgadir
Abellatif
A
Ashmaig
Abelrahman M
AM
Ibrahim
Abdel-Aziz M
AA
Ahmed
Ishag
I
Adam
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012555:Schistosomiasis mansoni / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013397:Sudan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult