WATER-CONTACT PATTERNS IN RELATION TO SCHISTOSOMA-HAEMATOBIUM INFECTION

Abstract

Water-contact observations were carried out on a population exposed to S. haematobium in a village situated on a man-made lake, Lake Volta, Ghana. The observations were made for 12 mo. prior to the introduction of control measures. A multiple regression analysis was performed on the results of observations on 132 individuals, with egg output as the dependent variable and various types of water-contact activity, and age and sex, as independent variables. In the analysis, specific activities, notably water-contact for domestic purposes and activities associated with fishermen''s canoes, were significantly related to schistosomiasis. Age was less important than degree of exposure as a contributory factor to variations in infection rates: the reduced intensity of infection of S. haematobium in the older age groups could be mainly due to a lower level of exposure to the cercarial population.