Long-term persistence of <i>Schistosoma mansoni</i> hotspots in western Kenya despite ongoing mass drug administration.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies have reported the existence of 'hotspots', where schistosomiasis prevalence and infection intensity remain high despite regular preventive chemotherapy. Western Kenya is one region where such hotspots were reported. We investigated whether hotspots remain following eight years of school-based deworming programme by comparing the prevalence and infection intensity of Schistosoma mansoni between five purposively selected hotspots and non-hotspots in Siaya County, western Kenya. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 500 participants (250 from hotspots and 250 from non-hotspots) between May and September 2023. The overall prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni in the ten villages was 39.4%. However, the average prevalence in the hotspots was 2.08 times higher

SUBMITTER: Olilah P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12818077 | biostudies-literature | 2026

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature