Epidemic transmission of intestinal schistosomiasis in the seasonal part of the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • C.C. Appleton
  • W.N. Ellery
  • Jens Byskov
  • S.S. Mogkweetsinyana
A well documented epidemic of human intestinal schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mansoni occurred at Maun in the seasonal part of the Okavango Delta, Botswana, building from very few cases in the 1950s and early 1960s to a peak prevalence of >80% in the 1980s. A retrospective analysis was performed on all available records of the prevalence of S. mansoni in the Maun area and the corresponding flow records of the Thamalakane River. These revealed a statistically significant correlation between prevalence and flow, but only when a lag period was introduced. The correlation was greatest with a lag period of 5-6 years between the rise and fall of discharge and the rise and fall of transmission. Since the hydrological events in the delta follow a cyclical pattern, another epidemic around 2020 appears likely.
Original languageEnglish
JournalAnnals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology
Volume102
Issue number7
Pages (from-to)611-623
Number of pages13
ISSN0003-4983
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

    Research areas

  • Former LIFE faculty - schistosomiasis, intestinal, transmission, epidemic, Okavango Delta, Botswana

ID: 9541788