Prevalence of Urinary and Intestinal Schistosomiasis Among Rice Framers in Asutsuare, Ghana

Schistosomiasis (urinary and intestinal) is a chronic, water-borne parasitic disease caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. The disease poses health problems in Ghana and is known to be associated with recreational and agricultural activities that involving frequent contact with freshwater. This study, therefore, determined the prevalence of urinary and intestinal Schistosomiasis among rice farmers in Asutsuare, a rural farming community in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. A total of 150 study participants comprising of 88 farmhands (people hired to work on rice farm) and 62 rice farm owners of both sexes with ages between 15-68 years were involved. Urine and stool samples were collected from study participants. Urine samples were tested for haematuria, proteinuria and while stool samples were examined under the microscope for schistosome ova. A structured questionnaire was used to gather demographic data and other significant information from the study participants. The prevalence of urinary and intestinal schistosomiasis each among the study group was 19.3% and 2% respectively. The overall prevalence (prevalence of S. haematobium and S. mansoni put together) was (21.33%). The disease was mostly seen among farmhands with the prevalence of the two disease conditions being 21.6% and 3.4% for urinary and intestinal respectively. The prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis among the farm owners was 16.1%, but no intestinal schistosomiasis was detected. Both urinary and intestinal schistosomiasis are prevalent in the study area. The farm helps on rice farms are at a higher risk of contracting the disease than the farm/land owners.