Male Genital Schistosomiasis Along the Shoreline of Lake Malawi: Baseline Prevalence and Associated Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Among Local Fishermen in Mangochi District, Malawi

2021
Male genital schistosomiasis (MGS) is an often-overlooked chronic consequence of urogenital schistosomiasis (UGS) associated with Schistosoma haematobium eggs and associated pathologies in the genital system of afflicted men. Despite the first formal description of MGS in 1911 by Madden, its epidemiology, diagnostic testing and case management of today are not well-described. However, since several interactions between MGS and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are known, there is renewed public health interest in MGS across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To shed new light upon MGS in Malawi, a longitudinal cohort study was set up among fishermen along the southern shoreline of Lake Malawi in Mangochi District, Malawi, to document its prevalence and assess mens' knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP). After providing informed written consent, fishermen (n = 376) aged 18+ years (median age: 30 years, range: 18-70 years) were recruited and submitted urine and semen for point-of-care (POC) field and laboratory diagnostic parasitological tests. Individual questionnaires were administered to assess their KAP, with praziquantel (PZQ) treatment provided to all participants. Baseline prevalence of MGS (S. haematobium eggs in semen) was 10.4% (n = 114, median: 5.0 eggs per ml, range: 0.1-30.0) while for UGS (S. haematobium eggs in urine) was 17.1% (n = 210, median: 2.3 eggs per 10 ml, range: 0.1-186.0) and 3.8% were positive by POC circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA), indicative of a Schistosoma mansoni infection. Just under 10% of participants reported having experienced symptoms associated with MGS, namely genital or coital pain, or haemospermia. A total of 61.7% reported previous difficulties in accessing PZQ therapy, with 34.8% having received PZQ therapy before. There was a significant correlation between MGS infection and the frequency of fishing in a week (rho = -0.25, n = 100, p = 0.01). In conclusion, MGS is prevalent among local fishermen yet knowledge of the disease is poor. We therefore call for improved availability and accessibility to MGS diagnostics, PZQ treatment within ongoing control interventions. This will improve the lives and reproductive health of men, their partners and communities in this shoreline environment of Lake Malawi.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
卷号:9
收录类型
SSCI
发表日期
2021
学科领域
循证公共卫生
国家
英国
语种
英语
DOI
10.3389/fpubh.2021.590695
其他关键词
UROGENITAL SCHISTOSOMIASIS; SEMEN; HIV; INFECTION; DIAGNOSIS; CHILDREN; MANSONI; MEN
EISSN
2296-2565
资助机构
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, United Kingdom; British Society for Parasitology; World Friendship Charity; African Research Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (ARNTD) through United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Ministry of Health of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (CORNTD); UK aidCGIAR
资助信息
SK was funded by a Ph.D. scholarship from Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, United Kingdom, an International Travel Fellowship from the British Society for Parasitology, grant from World Friendship Charity and African Research Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (ARNTD) through United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK aid from the British people (UKaid) and Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (CORNTD) to conduct the longitudinal cohort study on MGS. MA was funded by a Ph.D. scholarship from Ministry of Health of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and not their funders.
被引频次(WOS)
0
被引更新日期
2022-01
来源机构
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine University of Liverpool University of Malawi
关键词
MGS S haematobium fishermen semen Lake Malawi