PARASITIC INFECTIONS IN PEMBA ISLAND SCHOOLCHILDREN

Intestinal helminths, schistosomiasis and malaria have been recognised for decades to be major public health problems in Zanzibar, Tanzania. During the evaluation of the the impact of the Zanzibar Helminth Cont rol Programme, baseline parasitological data on 3,605 school children were collected in Pemba Island, Prevalence of intestinal helminth infe ctions was 72%, 94% and 96% for Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuristrichiu ra and hookworm, respectively. Thirty one percent af child ren test ed positive for haematuria, a reliable indicator of urinary schistosomia sis in the study area, Malaria parasites were found in 61% of children , Hookworm infections and haematuria were more prevalent in boys, Sixt y seven percent of the children were infected with all the three helmi nths, and 28% harboured double infection, No association was found bet ween intestinal helminths and schistosomiasis or malaria, Children liv ing in rural areas were more heavily infected with hookworms, schistos omiasis and malaria compared to children in towns. Results from this s tudy provided relevant information for designing a ''plan of action'' for the integrated control of filariasis, intestinal helminths, malari a and schistosomiasis in Zanzibar.