The parasite causes abdominal pain, malnutrition, anaemia and inflamed liver and spleen (Grimes et al., Reference Grimes, Croll, Harrison, Utzinger, Freeman and Templeton2014).
Due to the lack of sanitation and hygiene resources in many parts of Uganda, especially in rural communities, 55 per cent of the population is at risk of contracting this disease (Loewenberg, Reference Loewenberg2014). Transmission (described in more detail in the online appendix, section 1) is therefore maintained through open defecation, and inadequate containment of faeces (Loewenberg, Reference Loewenberg2014). Schistosoma mansoni larvae in the water burrow directly into the skin, develop into adult worms, which then pair up and produce eggs, which are then excreted out in human faeces. Schistosomiasis is ubiquitous among rural lakeshore communities in Uganda and is caused by a vector-borne parasite that infects humans through direct contact with contaminated water (Kabatereine et al., Reference Kabatereine, Brooker, Tukahebwa, Kazibwe and Onapa2004).
Using a stated preference discrete choice experiment (DCE), this paper examines community preferences for interventions that would improve sanitation and access to safe water in rural Uganda, in the specific context of mitigating transmission of, and individual exposure to, schistosomiasis.
Schistosomiasis is one of these diseases. A lack of safe-water access and sanitation inevitably leads to increased prevalence of many water-borne diseases. This results in faecal contamination of farming lands, fields, public areas and the waterbodies that are used as sources of local water supply. Even when sanitation is in place, it is often of poor quality, and does not fully contain human faeces. These waterbodies are often contaminated by a range of organisms detrimental to human health, often due to limited sanitation resources. In poor rural areas, access to safe water is often financially, temporally, or logistically costly, if available at all, and many families rely on lakes and rivers for their daily water needs. In Uganda, as in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), families face significant daily problems related to water access, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
0 kommentar(er)
