THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SCHISTOSOMIASIS IN EGYPT: SUMMARY FINDINGS IN NINE GOVERNORATES

Abstract. Health questionnaires and parasitologic examinations of urine and stool were evaluated from a stratified random sample of 89,180 individuals from 17,172 households in 251 rural communities in 9 governorates of Egypt to investigate the prevalence of, risk factors for, and changing pattern of infection with Schistosoma sp. in Egypt. A subset, every fifth household, or 18,600 subjects, had physical and ultrasound examinations to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for morbidity. Prevalence of S. haematobium in 4 governorates in Upper Egypt in which it is endemic ranged from 4.8 % to 13.7 % and averaged 7.8%. The geometric mean egg count (GMEC) ranged from 7.0 to 10.0 ova/ 10 ml of urine and averaged 8.1. Age stratified prevalence of infection peaked at 15.7 % in the 10–14-year-old age group and decreased to 3.5–5.5 % in all groups more than 25 years of age. Age-stratified intensity of infection peaked at approximately 10.0 ova/10 ml of urine in the 5–14-year-old age groups and was about half that in all groups mor