Identification of High Risk Communities for Schistosomiasis in Africa: A Multi-Country Study

This record represents the article in No. 15 of the WHO Social and Economic Research Project Report serial publication from the UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, which covers a multicountry study identifying high risk communities for schistosomiasis in Africa. The study participants are collectively members of the "Red Urine Study Group" under which name the overall results of the study are published.

This survey aims to identify schools and communities with high levels of schistosomiasis-related morbidity. The survey took place in two phases in Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In fieldwork phase 1 (September 1990-Februrary 1991), 67,290 children in 610 schools were screened via self-administered questionnaires. In fieldwork phase 2 (May 1991-August 1991) 38,595 children were screened using a biomedical test, either reagent sticks or Kato-Katz thick smears.