The western-southern perimeter of the village borders on Lake Vic

The western-southern perimeter of the village borders on Lake Victoria although access to the lake is very restricted being blocked by thick papyrus reed beds. Although the precise number of inhabitants in Bukoba is not accurately known as registers are poorly kept, it is in the region of 2000 people, locally serviced by several shops, a primary selleck inhibitor school and church. From interviews with cohort members, fishing is the occupation of a small minority of mothers (<2%) despite Bukoba being located on the lake, while

the vast majority of mothers (94%) are occupied in subsistence farming on small holdings, and cash crop production such as tomatoes, maize and cassava. As there is no borehole in Bukoba, household water is drawn daily, directly from the lake

at various collection points, mainly from the northern shoreline. General sanitation and hygiene is reasonable with nearly all having communal access to deep shaft pit latrines. On-site electricity is provided by portable generator or batteries alone. After conducting village sensitization in June 2009 making use of the village chairman, village council and associated community drug distributors for community mobilization, the study objectives were explained to all attending mothers (thought to be about 80% of the eligible population). After obtaining verbal consent, a mother and child cohort consisting of 126 mothers (mean age 29 years, range 17–45 years) with 247 preschool children (mean age 3 years, range 0.5–6 selleckchem years, 51% male) was selected for subsequent monitoring. Written informed consent was obtained upon interview (formal recruitment) either as a signature or thumbprint (53% were illiterate) where a suite of verbal

questions were also asked pertaining to socio-economic status, putative risk factors for intestinal schistosomiasis, malaria and soil-transmitted helminthiasis, as well as access to preventive measures e.g. bednets and medication such as anthelminthics. During a working week, each participant submitted two consecutive-day stool for samples for examination of Schistosoma mansoni eggs and ova from soil-transmitted helminths. From each stool two Kato-Katz thick smears (2 x 41.7 mg) on the same slide were made. Slides were then inspected under the light microscope at x100 magnification and infections were classified according to established WHO categories for all encountered helminths. Fingerprick blood was taken using a disposable safety lancet to prepare a thick and thin Giemsa-stained blood film and to conduct a Paracheck© rapid diagnostic test (Orchid Plc, Goa, India). Blood films were inspected on site for occurrence of Plasmodium spp. by light microscopy at x1000 under oil immersion. The results of each test were tallied and entered electronically using EpiDataTM 3.

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