Changes in Morbidity, Physical Fitness, and Perceived Quality of Life among Schoolchildren following Four Years of Different Mass Drug Administration Strategies against Schistosoma mansoni Infection in Mwanza Region, Northwestern Tanzania.

ABSTRACT: Schistosoma mansoni infection negatively impacts children's physical health and may influence general well-being. Schistosomiasis control programs aim at reducing morbidity through mass drug administration (MDA). This study aimed to compare morbidity markers between two cohorts of Tanzanian schoolchildren with initial high prevalence of S. mansoni infection. One cohort (N = 254 at baseline) received annual MDA for 4 years using community-wide treatment (CWT). The second cohort (N = 318 at baseline) received school-based treatment (SBT) every other year for 4 years. At year 5, the CWT cohort and the SBT cohort were reduced to 153 and 221 children, respectively. The characteristics of the 198 children lost to follow-up did not differ at baseline from those who wer

SUBMITTER: Olsen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6947808 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature