Impact of preventive chemotherapy in transforming the fight against soil transmitted Helminthic in Zanzibar: A literature review

Mansour Maulid Mshenga 1, 2, *, Hongjuan Peng 1, Fatma Mabrouk Ali 3 and Mbarouk Said Mohammed 4

1 Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangndong, China.
2 Zanzibar Integrated HIV, Hepatitis, TB and Leprosy Programme, Ministry of Health, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
3 Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China.
4 Department of Urology, Al-Rahma Hospital, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
 
Review Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 19(03), 934–936
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2023.19.3.1890
 
Publication history: 
Received on 07 August 2023; revised on 17 September 2023; accepted on 19 September 2023
 
Abstract: 
In Zanzibar, helminth infections caused by polluted soil have been acknowledged as a public health issue since the early 1990s. Nearly 90% of cases were caused by helminth infections that are spread through the soil. There were control initiatives from the 1990s to the 2000s using Preventive Chemotherapy. When the effect of these Preventive Chemotherapy initiatives was evaluated by surveys comparing the general prevalence, Unguja Island witnessed a decline of 39.2% from 98.9% in 1994 to 59.7% in 2007, while Pemba saw a drop from 100% to 80% by 2021. These control initiatives resulted in a discernible decline in prevalence in Unguja, while there is still a significant incidence in Pemba.
 
Keywords: 
Zanzibar; Preventive Chemotherapy; Soil Transmitted Helminthic; Prevalence
 
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