Irrigation Practices and Intestinal Helminth Infections in Southern and Central Zones of Tigray

ABSTRACT

Background: Irrigation practices have impact on the distribution of schistosomiasis; so; identifying newly established schistosomiasis transmission foci allows for designing prevention and control strategy. Objective: To establish schistosomiasis prevalence and intensity in relation to development of water bodies for irrigation. Methods: A survey of Results: Among the 1012 males and 998 females examined; 29males and 27.5females were found positive for one or more parasite. The prevalence of S. mansoni was 27in longstanding irrigated; 10.8in recently constructed irrigation schemes and 1.8in the non-irrigated rural localities. In the urban setting; its prevalence was 15.5in areas with water body nearby and 0.5in areas with no water body nearby (P0.0001). New S. mansoni infection foci were detected in Tumuga with a prevalence of 87; Dibdibo (41); Mariam Shewito (25); Adiha (23) and Lekia (9). Conclusion: The increasing risk of schistosomiasis mansoni in the irrigation sites is high. Hence; designing preventive and control strategies concurrent with the development of the irrigation projects will be required to reduce prevalence of schistosomiasis