title: Study and ranking of determinants of Taenia solium infections by classification tree models.
abstract: Taenia solium taeniasis/cysticercosis is an important public health problem occurring mainly in developing countries. This work aimed to study the determinants of human T. solium infections in the Eastern province of Zambia and rank them in order of importance. A household (HH)-level questionnaire was administered to 680 HHs from 53 villages in two rural districts and the taeniasis and cysticercosis status determined. A classification tree model (CART) was used to define the relative importance and interactions between different predictor variables in their effect on taeniasis and cysticercosis. The Katete study area had a significantly higher taeniasis and cysticercosis prevalence than the Petauke area. The CART analysis for Katete showed that the most important determinant for cysticercosis infections was the number of HH inhabitants (6 to 10) and for taeniasis was the number of HH inhabitants > 6. The most important determinant in Petauke for cysticercosis was the age of head of household > 32 years and for taeniasis it was age < 55 years. The CART analysis showed that the most important determinant for both taeniasis and cysticercosis infections was the number of HH inhabitants (6 to 10) in Katete district and age in Petauke. The results suggest that control measures should target HHs with a high number of inhabitants and older individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Zambia; Petauke District Hospital, Petauke, Zambia; Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kabemba E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Mwape
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Zambia; Petauke District Hospital, Petauke, Zambia; Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Isaac K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Phiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Zambia; Petauke District Hospital, Petauke, Zambia; Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Praet
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Zambia; Petauke District Hospital, Petauke, Zambia; Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dorny
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Zambia; Petauke District Hospital, Petauke, Zambia; Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Muma
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Zambia; Petauke District Hospital, Petauke, Zambia; Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gideon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zulu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Zambia; Petauke District Hospital, Petauke, Zambia; Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Niko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Speybroeck
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Zambia; Petauke District Hospital, Petauke, Zambia; Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium sgabriel@itg.be.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gabriël
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D041201:Taenia solium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013622:Taeniasis / Q000145:classification* / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult