A multivariate analysis of socio-demographic factors, water contact patterns and Schistosoma mansoni infection in an endemic area in Brazil
Open Access
- 1 February 1991
- journal article
- Published by FapUNIFESP (SciELO) in Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
- Vol. 33 (1), 58-63
- https://doi.org/10.1590/s0036-46651991000100011
Abstract
Associations between socio-demographic factors, water contact patterns and Schistosoma mansoni infection were investigated in 506 individuals (87% of inhabitants over 1 year of age) in an endemic area in Brazil (Divino), aiming at determining priorities for public health measures to prevent the infection. Those who eliminated S. mansoni eggs (n = 198) were compared to those without eggs in the stools (n = 308). The following explanatory variables were considered: age, sex, color, previous treatment with schistosomicide, place of birth, quality of the houses, water supply for the household, distance from houses to stream, and frequency and reasons for water contact. Factors found to be independently associated with the infection were age (10-19 and > 20 yrs old), and water contact for agricultural activities, fishing, and swimming or bathing (Adjusted relative odds = 5.0, 2.4, 3.2, 2.1 and 2.0, respectively). This suggests the need for public health measures to prevent the infection, emphasizing water contact for leisure and agricultural activities in this endemic area.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Estudo clínico-epidemiológico da esquistossomose mansoni em escolares da Ilha, município de Arcos, MG (Brasil), 1983Revista de Saúde Pública, 1985
- A clinico-epidemiological survey of schistosomiasis mansoni in a hyperendemic area in Minas Gerais State (Comercinho, Brazil). I. Differences in the manifestations of schistosomiasis in the town centre and in the environsTransactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1985
- The epidemiology and consequences of Schistosoma mansoni infection in West Nile, Uganda: I. Field studies of a community at PanyagoroTransactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1972