Home About us Current issue Back issues Submission Instructions Advertise Contact Login
Author's Reply
Nagla Gasmelseed
National Cancer Institute, University of Gezira, P. O. Box 20, Sudan
Date of Web Publication 13-Nov-2013
Gasmelseed N. Author's Reply. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl 2013;24:1253-4
Gasmelseed N. Author's Reply. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl [serial online] 2013 [cited 2020 Jan 19];24:1253-4. Available from: http://www.sjkdt.org/text.asp?2013/24/6/1253/121297
To the Editor,
I would like to thank Prof. Mahmood Dhahir Al-Mendalawi for his interest in our work and his comments, and I would like to clarify the following:
First, the study area was in Gezira state, which is an endemic of schistosomiasis since 1931. [1] Different control projects have been implemented in this region, such as the Blue Nile Health Project (BNHP) from 1980 to 1993. [2] Integrated control (mass chemotherapy, mollusciciding, health education, provision of water supply and pit latrines) has been performed during this period. [3] After termination of the BNHP, the incidence of schistosomiasis started to increase dramatically and the Ministry of Health started controlling the focal point with mass chemotherapy for school children in the area with the highest incidence. [3]
Interestingly, the prevalence of 83.6% urinary tract ultrasonographic abnormalities in our study appears high for many reasons, such as:
The study group (being children) are at a high risk of schistosomiasis infection.
The study group included children (boys, Quraan School) who tended to swim and drink more frequently using canals near the area.
The high percentage in this study did not reflect the community in the study area, but rather reflected an endemic area of S. haematobium where US was performed.
We compared it with endemic areas of schistosomiasis, where we found 77.5% patients with changes in the bladder (males more frequent than females in Madagascar) [4] and, in Niger, the prevalence of abnormality of the bladder was 54%. [5] The gender of an individual may play a role in the study because girls (traditionally) are not allowed to go to the canal to swim at this age.
Regarding the lack of treatment in Sudan, the mass treatment in the Gezira area has been done regularly in the highly endemic areas; however, the increased prevalence of infection is due to re-infection rather than due to a lack of treatment.
Second, we did not find ureteric strictures in our study population. In addition, our study addresses the ultrasound findings before the treatment and, because we did not evaluate these patients after treatment, we did not know whether these findings resolved after treatment.
1. Babiker A. "Schistosomiasis in the Sudan". National Center for Research. Ministry of Science and Technology, Sudan, 2002.
2. Blue Nile Health Project Annual Reports 1981-1991.
3. Babiker A, Fenwich A, Daffallah AA, Amin MA. Focality and Seasonality of Schistosoma mansoni transmission in The Gezira Irrigated Area, Sudan. J Trop Med Hyg 1985;88:57-63.
4. Serieye J, Boisier P, Ravaoalimalala VE, et al. Schistosoma haematobium infection in western Madagascar: Morbidity determined by ultraso nography. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1996; 90:398-401.
5. Laurent C, Lamothe F, Develoux M, Sellin B, Mouchet F. Ultrasonographic assessment of urinary tract lesions due to Schistosoma haematobium in Niger after four consecutive years of treatment with praziquantel. Trop Med Parasitol 1990;41:139-42.
National Cancer Institute, University of Gezira, P. O. Box 20
Gasmelseed N
Sitemap | What's New | Feedback | Copyright and Disclaimer
© 2007 - Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow