title: Urine heme dipsticks are useful in monitoring the impact of praziquantel treatment on Schistosoma haematobium in sentinel communities of Delta State, Nigeria.
abstract: Nigeria is highly endemic for infection with Schistosoma haematobium, which most commonly manifests itself with blood in urine. To monitor the impact of annual mass drug administration (MDA) with Praziquantel for S. haematobium in Delta State, Nigeria, cross-sectional hematuria surveys of school children were conducted in 8 sentinel villages (SVs) at baseline (n=240) and after two annual doses (n=402). We assessed the comparability of three assessments of hematuria (child's reported history, nurse visual diagnosis (NVD) and dipstick) to determine the need for mass treatment. Dipstick was considered to be the gold standard. Prior to treatment, history and NVD each identified only the 3 most highly prevalent SVs, and overall this represented just 37.5% of the 8 SVs in need of treatment. Following treatment, after dipstick prevalence decreased by 88.5% (p<0.001), and history and NVD identified only one of two villages still needing treatment. The study suggests that dipsticks should be the recommended method for launching and monitoring mass treatment for S. haematobium.
authors.affiliation: The Carter Center, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. emukahe@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Emukah
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gutman
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eguagie
authors.forename: Emmanuel S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Miri
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yinkore
authors.forename: Ndudi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okocha
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jibunor
authors.forename: Obiageli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nebe
authors.forename: Augustine Ikenna
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Nwoye
authors.forename: Frank O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Richards
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006418:Heme / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria; D011223:Praziquantel / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015995:Prevalence; D012548:Schistosoma haematobium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D012553:Schistosomiasis haematobia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology; D012574:Schools; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D006418:Heme; D011223:Praziquantel