Browsing by Author "Siziya, Seter"

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    Prevalence and Factors Associated with Schistosomiasis in Ng'ombe Township of Lusaka Urban District.
    (2012-3-31) Kalungwana, Ng'andwe; Mwakazanga, David; Mwansa, James; Mutengo, Mable M.; Siziya, Seter
    Background:The transmission cycle of schistosomiasis requires contamination of surface water by excreta, specific freshwater snails as intermediate hosts, and human water contact. The disease is a rural problem, but urban foci can be found in many endemic areas. The Zambian Ministry of Health (MOH) reports that schistosomiasis is highly prevalent in rural districts especially those close to the Lakes and rivers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Ng'ombe Township is the hardest hit by schistosomiasis in Lusaka province of Zambia. Though a number of studies including national surveys have been done on schistosomiasis, no study on the factors associated with the disease in Ng'ombe Township has been documented. Materials and Methods: A Cross Sectional Exploratory survey was conducted to determine the prevalence and factors associated with schistosomiasis in five schools of Ng'ombe Township in Lusaka district where a total of 260 school-going children aged 8-14 years, attending grade three (3) to grade five (5) participated in the study. Results: No cases of S. mansoni were recorded in the five schools of Ng'ombe Township.However, the overall prevalence of S. haematobium infection was 13.1% (34/260). Age was significantly associated with infection. Compared with participants of age less than 10 years, participants aged 10-11 years and those aged 12 years or older were 5.17 (95% CI [1.62, 16.49]) and 14.96 (95% CI [2.52, 88.65]) times more likely to get infected, respectively. Children in grade five were 65% (AOR=0.35, 95% CI [0.02, 0.40]) less likely to have Schistosomiasis than those in grade three. Pupils whose source of water at school was a public water tap were 73% (AOR=0.27, 95% CI [0.09, 0.90]) less likely to have schistosomiasis than those that were using a communal hand pump at school. Conclusions:The study clearly documents the persistent schistosoma infestation in a peri-urban school age population.
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    Sensitivity and predictive value of dysentery in diagnosing shigellosis among under five children in Zambia.
    (2023) Miti, Sam; Chilyabanyama, Obvious N.; Chisenga, Caroline C.; Chibuye, Mwelwa; Bosomprah, Samuel; Mumba, Chisenga; Chitondo, Salome; Siziya, Seter; Cohen, Dani; Chilengi, Roma; Simuyandi, Michelo
    BACKGROUND: Shigella is a leading cause of bacterial diarrhea morbidity and mortality affecting mainly children under five in the developing world. In Zambia, Shigella has a high prevalence of 34.7% in children with diarrhea and an attributable fraction of 6.7% in Zambian children with moderate to severe diarrhea. Zambian diarrhea management guidelines and the health ministry reporting tool Health Management Information System (HMIS) heavily rely on the WHO clinical classification of dysentery to potentially identify and estimate the burden of Shigella in children. This reliance on clinical dysentery as a proxy to shigellosis in under five children may be resulting in gross under-estimation of shigella disease burden in Zambia. METHODS: We used existing laboratory and clinical data to examine the sensitivity and predictive value of dysentery to correctly identify Shigella infection in under five children with PCR confirmed Shigella infection in Lusaka and Ndola districts, Zambia. RESULTS: Clinical dysentery had a sensitivity of 8.5% (34/401) in identifying under five children with Shigella by stool PCR. Dysentery was able to correctly classify Shigella in 34 of 68 bloody stool samples giving a corresponding positive predictive value of 50%. Of the 1087 with non-bloody diarrhea, 720 did not have Shigella giving a negative predictive value of 66.2%. CONCLUSIONS: Use of clinical dysentery as a screening symptom for Shigella infection in children under five presenting with moderate to severe diarrhea has low sensitivity and low positive predictive value respectively. Clinical dysentery as a screening symptom for Shigella contributes to gross under diagnosis and reporting of Shigella infection among under five children in Zambia. Further research is required to better inform practice on more accurate methods or tools to use in support of routine diagnosis, particularly in low middle-income settings where laboratory diagnosis remains a challenge.