Schistosomiasis in Women of Reproductive Age in Burkina Faso: Implications for Control

The objective of this study is to investigate the epidemiology of schistosomiasis and anaemia among pregnant and non-pregnant women in Burkina Faso and explore the implications for the national schistosomiasis control programme and future studies.

Specific objectives are:

• to determine the prevalence and intensity of schistosome infection in pregnant women attending for antenatal care and in non-pregnant women of reproductive age in an area which is hyperendemic for S.haematobium infection and in which there is little or no S.mansoni infection
• to determine the prevalence and intensity of schistosome infection in pregnant women attending for antenatal care and in non-pregnant women of reproductive age in an area in which S.mansoni infection is common
• to determine Haemoglobin concentration in pregnant women attending for antenatal care and in non-pregnant women of reproductive age in the regions described above
• to investigate the association between infection and haemoglobin concentration in pregnant and non-pregnant women
• to determine the prevalence of other parasitic infections in pregnant women and non-pregnant women including hookworms, ascaris, trichuris and malaria
• to demonstrate the research team's ability to follow-up pregnant women recruited at antenatal care clinics onto the postpartum period

Inclusion criteria

• Pregnant women attending for ANC
• Non-pregnant women age 15-45 years accompanying relatives or children to the health centres or for immunization