Prevalence of Schistosomiasis Infection among Young Children Aged 5 to 17 Years in Kilosa District, Tanzania: A 3 Year Retrospective Review

This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of schistosomiasis in children aged 5-17 years in Kilosa district over a 3 year period. A retrospective study using records of laboratory data from laboratory record books of the selected health facilities in four wards in Kilosa district. Samples of urine and stool submitted by young children to the laboratories of health facilities between 2014 and 2016 were recorded.A total of 702 samples were collected from the laboratory records books involving their age, sex and schistosome species. Of the 702 individuals, 541 were examined for urinary schistosomiasis and 161 for intestinal schistosomiasis; 31 (5.7%) were infected with S. haematobium and 11 (6.8%) with S. mansoni respectively. However, the overall prevalence of schistosomiasis was 6.27% in the study area. Males had prevalence for S. haematobium was 1.00% and S. mansoni was 2.35% while females had prevalence for S. haematobium was 3.96% and S. mansoni was 1.00%. Children of age group 13-17 years were infected with both species, S. haematobium was 5.11% and S. mansoni was 1.99%. Ruhembe ward had highest prevalence in both species, S. haematobium was 8.62% and S. mansoni was 5.17% respectively. The findings confirm that schistosomiasis is a public health problem in the district.