[Approaches used for assessment of the burden of advanced schistosomiasis japonica: a comparative study]

OBJECTIVE

To compare the approaches used for the assessment of disability adjust life years (DALYs) for advanced schistosomiasis japonica, so as to provide scientific evidence for accurate assessment of the burden of advanced schistosomiasis japonica.

METHODS

The patients with advanced schistosomiasis japonica receiving treatment and assistance programs in Hunan Province in 2017 were enrolled, and the years lived with disability (YLD) for the patients with advanced schistosomiasis japonica was calculated using the common global burden of disease (GBD) estimation method, the modified GBD method with addition of common syndromes of advanced schistosomiasis japonica, and the quality of life assessment method.

RESULTS

The YLDs of patients with advanced schistosomiasis japonica, the mean YLDs per capita, and the percentages of YLD were 673.94, 728.77 person-years and 1 761.99 person-years; 0.181, 0.196 person-years and 0.474 person-years; and 10.61, 11.48 person-years per 100 thousand persons and 27.75 person-years per 100 thousand persons with the common GBD method, modified GBD method and the quality of life method, respectively. The YLDs of the patients with advanced schistosomiasis japonica in Hunan Province estimated with the modified GBD method and the quality of life method were 8.14% and 2.61 times higher than that with the common GBD method. Of the major symptoms included in the calculation, the 5 symptoms with the greatest contribution to the burden of advanced schistosomiasis japonica included ascites, moderate anemia, severe anemia, diarrhea and hematochezia.

CONCLUSIONS

The quality of life method may more comprehensively assess the YLDs in patients with advanced schistosomiasis japonica than the common and modified GBD methods.

[Current status and transmission risks of oversea imported schistosomiasis in China]

With the acceleration of the process of global integration, China's international exchanges and cooperation with other countries have been further increased. The personnel exchange has led to the frequent occurrence of imported schistosomiasis from abroad, which seriously endangers people's health. This paper reviews the prevalence and transmission risks of oversea imported schistosomiasis, providing the reference for the entry and exit health quarantine and prevention and control of schistosomiasis in China.

[Global burden and challenges of parasitic diseases in Africa]

Parasitic diseases are common infectious diseases closely related to poverty, which are mainly endemic in the tropical and subtropical regions. Africa is the major epidemic area of parasitic diseases, and the global burden of malaria and schistosomiasis is over 85% in Africa. This paper reviews the disease burden, regional distribution and control strategies of the main parasitic diseases in Africa, in order to promote the prevention and control of parasitic diseases in this area.

[Study on value of IHA in diagnosis of schistosomiasis japonica]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the value of indirect hemagglutination test (IHA) in schistosomiasis diagnosis.

METHODS

The literature concerned schistosomiasis diagnosis with IHA in the databases of Medline, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang Data from 1982 to 2014 was collected and evaluated.

RESULTS

Totally 21 articles which were satisfied with the research criteria were analyzed with the Meta-analysis method. The IHA method had high value in schistosomiasis diagnosis, the AUC_SROC of IHA in laboratory evaluation was 0.990 6, while in filed evaluation was 0.832 9, and the difference between them was significant (Z = 4.50, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The diagnosis value of IHA in field evaluation is less than that in laboratory. In the process of the elimination of schistosomiasis, developing a new and higher sensitive reagent in schistosomiasis diagnosis is needed.

[Epidemiological characteristics of echinococcosis death cases in China from 2008 to 2016]

OBJECTIVE

To understand the epidemiological characteristics of death cases of echinococcosis in China from 2008 to 2016, so as to provide an important reference for the prevention and control of echinococcosis.

METHODS

The death information registration and management system data were selected to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of the death cases of echinococcosis. The data were analyzed by SPSS 21.0 and the map was drawn by ArcGIS 10.1 software.

RESULTS

From 2008 to 2016, a total of 367 death cases of echinococcosis were reported in China, and the number of deaths in turn was 33, 30, 21, 32, 35, 54, 55, and 81 in each year, with an annual average crude mortality of 129.29 /10⁵. The average age of death was (56 ± 18) years; the sex ratio of male to female was 100∶94. There was no statistical difference between the male and female death cases (χ² = 0.33, P > 0.05).The death cases of echinococcosis were mainly distributed in endemic areas of Qinghai, Sichuan, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan and non-endemic areas of Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Henan and Shandong. The death cases in the first eleven provinces accounted for 87.5% (321/367) of the total death cases, among which the highest proportions of the nationality, occupation, educational level, highest diagnostic units, and the place of death were Han (52.0%, 191/367), farmer (46.6%, 171/367), junior high school or below (57.2%, 210/367), provincial or three-level hospitals (46.6%, 171/367), and at home (59.9%, 220/367).

CONCLUSIONS

Since 2014, the death cases of echinococcosis in China have been increasing year by year, indicating that the prevention and treatment of echinococcosis is still very serious. The causes for the rise of the fatality rate remain to be further studied.

[Evaluation of schistosomiasis control effect of buffalo removal in Anxiang County]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of a comprehensive schistosomiasis control strategy based on buffalo removal in a lake and marshland region.

METHODS

A community intervention trial was carried out in seven pilot villages and seven control villages along Dongting Lake in Anxiang County, Hunan Province. Besides annual routine control measures such as synchronous chemotherapy, molluscicidal spray and health education, all buffaloes and sheep were killed or removed from the pilot areas in 2005, of which the effect was strengthened by other supporting measures such as replacing bovines by agricultural machines, isolating meadows and prohibiting pastures, supplying safe water, and building sanitary lavatories or methane pits. Schistosoma japonicum infection in humans or Oncomelania snails was observed and followed up to the spring of 2011.

RESULTS

Three years after the intervention, the infection rates in humans decreased to below 1% with no infected snails found outside the embankment in the pilot villages, but the infection rates still ranged between 2% and 3% in the control villages 4 years after the intervention. The comprehensive measures centered on buffalo removal exempted about 50% of the population from the infection in pilot villages.

CONCLUSION

Buffalo removal is the key element of comprehensive control strategy which could accelerate the control process and promote the elimination of schistosomiasis in lake and marshland regions along the Yangtze River.