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Can coverage of schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminthiasis control programmes targeting school-aged children be improved? New approaches

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2009

K. MASSA ,
A. OLSEN ,
A. SHESHE ,
R. NTAKAMULENGA ,
B. NDAWI  and
P. MAGNUSSEN
K. MASSA*
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Health, Tanga, Tanzania
A. OLSEN
Affiliation:
DBL-Centre for Health Research and Development, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
A. SHESHE
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Health, Tanga, Tanzania
R. NTAKAMULENGA
Affiliation:
National Environment Management Council (NEMC), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
B. NDAWI
Affiliation:
Primary Helath Care Institute, Iringa, Tanzania
P. MAGNUSSEN
Affiliation:
DBL-Centre for Health Research and Development, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author: Khalid M. Massa, School of Environmental Health, P. O. Box 1475, Tanga, Tanzania. Phone: +255 713 413699, Fax +255 27 2647797, Email: kmkmassa@yahoo.com
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Summary

Control programmes generally use a school-based strategy of mass drug administration to reduce morbidity of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) in school-aged populations. The success of school-based programmes depends on treatment coverage. The community-directed treatment (ComDT) approach has been implemented in the control of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis in Africa and improves treatment coverage. This study compared the treatment coverage between the ComDT approach and the school-based treatment approach, where non-enrolled school-aged children were invited for treatment, in the control of schistosomiasis and STH among enrolled and non-enrolled school-aged children. Coverage during the first treatment round among enrolled children was similar for the two approaches (ComDT: 80·3% versus school: 82·1%, P=0·072). However, for the non-enrolled children the ComDT approach achieved a significantly higher coverage than the school-based approach (80·0 versus 59·2%, P<0·001). Similar treatment coverage levels were attained at the second treatment round. Again, equal levels of treatment coverage were found between the two approaches for the enrolled school-aged children, while the ComDT approach achieved a significantly higher coverage in the non-enrolled children. The results of this study showed that the ComDT approach can obtain significantly higher treatment coverage among the non-enrolled school-aged children compared to the school-based treatment approach for the control of schistosomiasis and STH.

Keywords

Schistosomiasissoil-transmitted helminthiasiscommunity-directed treatmentschool-based treatmentschool-aged childrencoverage
Type
SECTION 3 PROGRAMMATIC OPTIMISATION OF DRUG DELIVERY
Information
Parasitology , Volume 136 , Special Issue 13: Control of schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa , November 2009 , pp. 1781 - 1788
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

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