Active clinical trials for "Schistosomiasis haematobia"

Schistosomiasis is one of most important human parasitic diseases worldwide. Pregnant women and their infants are two vulnerable population groups, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where - amongst other infectious agents - they are heavily exposed to infections with S. haematobium. Adoption of the recommendation and implementation by national disease control programs was however delayed in most African countries, due to the lack of safety data in humans and in the unborn babies. First results from randomized controlled trials with PZQ in pregnant women meanwhile have provided evidence for the safety of PZQ also in newborns. In Gabon, S. haematobium is the primarily prevalent Schistosoma species infection. As it is true for most of observational and interventional studies on schistosomiasis, the power of the study is weakened due to the low sensitivity of reference schistosomiasis diagnosis applied, and one might correctly assume that a considerable proportion of samples were misclassified as negative in the control groups. Therefore, diagnostic tests that are highly sensitive and specific are essential to the detection of Schistosoma infections and are urgently needed for a test-and-treat strategy to control schistosomiasis in pregnancy as well as tools to determine efficacy of new interventions tested in clinical trials. Circulating anodic antigen (CAA) and circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) have levels correlating with the number of worms and have also been shown to clear within a few days or weeks after successful treatment. Assays measuring serum levels of these antigens (POC-CCA, UCP-LF CAA) are therefore deemed to assess drug efficacy. Based on above mentioned tools, we decided to assess the accuracy of CAA measurement to determine the Schistosoma infection in two specific conditions: A) as a diagnostic tool for S. haematobium to prepare for the future implementation of a PZQ test-and-treat strategy and B) as a diagnostic tool to measure efficacy of praziquantel in schistosomiasis and pregnancy intervention trials.

The purpose of this study is to determine what causes some people to become sick, and others not, when they are infected with the parasite Schistosoma haematobium, also known as Bilharzia. This is an infection of the urinary tract blood vessels and can cause serious disease. Approximately 4400 adults and children of any age will participate in this study. They must be residents of the Msambweni Area, Kwale District, Coast Province, Kenya, where infection with S. haematobium parasites are common. To find out if people are infected, they will first provide 1 or more urine samples for a microscope examination to detect if the S. haematobium parasites are present in the body. Volunteers then will be examined by ultrasound to see if they have kidney or bladder disease. (Ultrasound examination is the use of a non-painful machine that uses sound waves to examine the condition of the internal organs.) Treatment with the drug praziquantel will be offered if S. haematobium infection is found.

A cross-sectional study of urogenital schistosomiasis and sexually transmitted infections (STI) prevalence and associated morbidity in a rural community in Madagascar. Clearance of infections and resolution of morbidity were subsequently studied in two phases following systematic anti-STI and anti-schistosoma treatment, respectively.

Schistosomiasis is a poverty-related water-transmitted parasitic disease affecting more that 200 million people world wide. Infection with Schistosoma haematobium may cause Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) with pathological lesions in the female genital tract, especially the cervix. Findings indicate that FGS is a hitherto under-diagnosed illness of young women in endemic poor tropical countries, deserving further attention. A cross-sectional study from Zimbabwe indicated that the pathologic genital lesions were unchanged two years after praziquantel treatment in adult women whereas in those who had been treated with praziquantel in childhood the prevalence of genital lesions was significantly lower. Furthermore, a higher prevalence of HIV was detected in women with FGS compared to those without. The proposed project aims at achieving a better understanding of how annual distribution of praziquantel to pre- and post-pubertal schoolgirls may prevent FGS. This information can be of use in current schistosomiasis control programs in the near term resulting in improved strategies for treatment. Preventing or reducing the risk of FGS and genital lesions will lead to improved reproductive health among in women living in schistosomiasis endemic areas. Project Goal: Contribute to a reduction of the global burden of female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) through improved knowledge about the prevention of gynecological lesions and through improved diagnosis of FGS.