Seasonal Pattern and Occurrence of Schistosoma haematobium Egg Excretion among Pregnant Women in Munyenge, South West Region, Cameroon

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe temperature, precipitation pattern and the occurrence of maternal urogenital schistosomiasis (UGS) in Munyenge in 2017.

Study Design: It was a twelve-month cross-sectional study.

Study Site and Duration: The study was carried out in Munyenge from January to December 2017.

Materials and Methods: Volunteer pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic were enrolled consecutively on a monthly basis from January to December 2017. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographic data and water contact behaviour. Urine samples were analysed for presence of microhaematuria and/or Schistosoma haematobium ova using filtration method. Monthly land surface temperature (LST) and precipitation were sourced from MODIS and CHIRPS satellite data respectively. Statistical analyses performed were analysis of variance, student t- test and correlation analysis.

Results: The mean annual temperature was 27.18 ± 0.74°C. Monthly temperatures were fairly constant (range: 26.12 to 28.82°C). Precipitation varied greatly (range: 0.26 - 12.75 mm) with a mean of 6.58 ± 4.5mm. A marginal negative correlation (r = -0.586; P = .04) was observed between stream usage and precipitation where stream usage reduced with increase in precipitation. Generally, there was high dependence on the stream as source of water (60.9 - 90.6%) in the study area. Dependency on the stream was associated (r = 0.603; P = .03) with domestic and bathing activities. The annual prevalence of maternal UGS was 24.1% (77/320) with a high occurrence during the rainy season (16.6%; 53/320) than the dry season (7.5%; 24/320) but the difference was not significant (χ2 = 2.26; P = .13). There was no significant difference between months.

Conclusion: Our findings show no seasonal variation in the occurrence of maternal UGS in Munyenge. Transmission of infection may be perennial.