CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES ›› 2021, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (5): 578-584.doi: 10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2021.05.003

• SPECIAL REPORTS ON THE CONTROL EXPERIENCE OF PARASITIC DISEASES IN HUBEI PROVINCE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Assessment of transmission risk of human schistosomiasis japonica based on human population antibody level in Hubei Province

WU Jia-li(), LI Bo, LIU Si, TU Zu-wu, TANG Li, TU Zhen, ZHOU Xiao-rong, SUN Ling-cong, XIAO Ying, ZHU Hong*()   

  1. Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Wuhan 430079,China
  • Received:2021-03-29 Revised:2021-06-22 Online:2021-10-30 Published:2021-11-10
  • Contact: ZHU Hong E-mail:wujiali86@126.com;whzh2005@aliyum.com
  • Supported by:
    Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Planning Project(自然科学基金2018CFC896);National Natural Science Foundation of China Youth Science Fund Project(81803297);Hubei Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission Research Project(WJ2017X013)

Abstract:

Objective To understand the current status of the antibody level and changing trend in human schistosomiasis japonica in Hubei Province, thereby to assess the transmission risk. Methods Serum samples were collected from the seropositives of Schistosoma infection during mass screening in September to December yearly of 2016—2018, and the serum antibody titer was determined by indirect hemagglutination test. The antibody titer and basic information of the examinees were recorded. The disease screening and control progress in endemic areas (cities, districts) of Hubei Province were collected from the annual report data in 2016—2018. Four indicators were defined for assessment of transmission risk: the number of serum antibody-positives, sero-positive rate, proportion of high antibody titers in sero-positives, and the type of endemic area. The transmission risk was evaluated by county, and visualized by constructing a risk grade map using ArcGIS 10.5 software. Basic information on the people with positive serum antibody was analyzed with SPSS 26.0 software, to assess the distribution characteristics of key population. Results From 2016 to 2018, the number of participants in schistosomiasis antibody testing was 1 728 300, 1 531 611 and 1 498 039, respectively. In the three years, the numbers of seropositives reports with positive serum antibody were 41 154, 31 532 and 22 124, and the sero-positive rates 2.38%, 2.06%, and 1.48%, respectively, showing a decrease in both number and rate each year (χ 2 = 3410.81, P < 0.01). In 2016 and 2017, the sero-positives were mostly reported from the transmission-controlled areas, accounting for 95.47% (39 290/41 154) and 63.68% (20 081/31 532) of the total seropositives (χ 2 = 773.88, P < 0.01), respectively, while in 2018, the seropositives were mainly reported from the transmission-interrupted areas, accounting for 99.84% (22 088/22 124) of the total. From 2016 to 2018, the numbers of seropositives with antibody titer ≥ 1 ∶ 40 were 4 459, 4 498 and 2 482, respectively, accounting for 10.83%, 14.26%, and 11.22% of the total sero-positives, with significant difference between years (χ 2 = 217.46, P < 0.01). The assessment of transmission risk by grading found five risk grade 1 areas in the province: Gong’an County, Shashi District, Jiangling County, Songzi City, and Qianjiang City. Ten risk grade 2 areas were identified: Yangxin County, Honghu City, Jiayu County, Jingzhou District, the Jingzhou Development Zone, Hannan District, Shishou City, Caidian District, Hanchuan City and Xiantao City. In addition, ten risk grade 3 areas were found, and the remaining 38 endemic areas were all risk grade 4 areas. Analysis on key population at schistosomiasis transmission risk indicated that among the population with serum antibody titer ≥ 1 : 40, males (62.43%, 7 141/11 439) and people of 44-65 years-old (71.09%, 8 132/11 439) composed the majority. Conclusion During 2016—2018, the number of seropositive cases of schistosomiasis in Hubei Province declined year by year. Currently, the transmission risk of schistosomiasis japonica was assessed mainly as grade 4, indicative of overall low risk in the endemic areas. However, prevention and control in areas of risk grade 1 and 2 remain to be strengthened, targeting the key population of males and those at the age of 44-65 years old.

Key words: Schistosomiasis japonica, Human, Transmission risk, Analysis and evaluation, Hubei Province

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