Feldmeir H. Schistosomiasis of the lower reproductive tract without egg excretion in urine Am J Trop Med Hyg

Abstract. The individual and public health impact of female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) has been studied and FGS as a risk factor for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus is discussed. In a community-based study in Tanzania, 40 % of the women of child-bearing age (n 5 543) showed excretion of Schistosoma haematobium eggs in the urine (median 5 2.2 eggs/10 ml of urine) and 32 % (n 5 263) had S. haematobium eggs in their cervical tissue. Urinary and genital schistosomiasis coexisted in 62 % of the women, but S. haematobium eggs were found in the cervix without detectable egg excretion in the urine in 23%. Only 43 % of the FGS cases had hematuria. Since FGS frequently exists in women with scanty or no egg excretion in the urine and because this disease manifestation is a considerable individual and public health hazard in S. haematobium-endemic areas, mass treatment targeted to women of child-bearing age should be considered. Genital manifestations of infection with Schistosoma hae-matobium, although long known, have not attracted much attention. Only recently have the individual and public health implications of female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) been reported.1 An estimated 9–13 million women may be afflict-ed by this disease entity in Africa alone.1 This caused th