Effect of a control programme on transmission of Schistosoma mansoni on an irrigated estate in Tanzania.

Three methods were used to measure the level of transmission of infections of Schistosoma mansoni on an irrigated sugar estate in northern Tanzania. The studies were carried out over a period of 3 years, during a programme for the control of the host snail Biomphalaria pfeifferi. During the second and third years a mass diagnosis and treatment campaign against the infection was also carried out. Examinations for infection were made in newly employed subjects on arrival and after 6 and 12 months. Two studies were made in young children at an interval of 18 months, to determine age prevalence curves. In the third method, subjects were examined for infection 18 months after being found free from infection in a previous survey. Results are compared with data recorded in a previous study, made before snail control was commenced. The results suggest that the control programme has led to a great reduction in the incidence of S. mansoni on the estate.