SCHISTOSOMIASIS HAEMATOBIA IN COAST PROVINCE KENYA - RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EGG OUTPUT AND MORBIDITY

Several studies of schistosomiasis haematobia in Africa revealed a correlation between intensity of infection as measured by urine egg counts and severity of disease as determined by intravenous pyelography. The present study consisted of a survey of 390 school children in the coastal area of Kenya involving a single egg count, and intravenous pyelograms in a stratified random sample of 69 children; the results showed a greater prevalence of urinary tract disease in those with higher intensities of infection. This survey was then followed by a more detailed study in which nine consecutive daily egg counts were done in 121 children; 17 of these children, subdivided into three groups with different intensities of infection, were given intravenous pyelograms. The results were similar in the 11 children with minimal and moderate counts (averaging, respectively, <1 egg and 167 eggs/10 ml urine daily), with approximately 30% having bladder or renal abnormalities. In comparison, all of the six children with heavy counts (averaging 1,288 eggs/10 ml urine daily) had bladder lesions and five of them had renal lesions.