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Schistosomiasis Mansoni in Bananal (State of São Paulo, Brazil). IV. Study on the Public Awareness of its Risks in the Palha District
Rubens Antonio da Silva; Maria Esther de Carvalho; Fabiana Zacharias; Valquíria R de Lima & Horacio MS Teles
Abstract
A rather high prevalence of mansoni schistosomiasis has been
observed in some localities of Bananal, State of São Paulo, during
the past decade. The highest prevalence of schistosomiasis was found in
the Palha District; it was thus considered adequate for an evaluation of
public awareness of the risks involved in acquiring schistosomiasis, a likely
outcome of certain behavior patterns. We interviewed 542 district-dwellers.
The 5-to-39 age-group constituted 65.5% of the whole sample. Concerning
the infection, 69.2% had hearsay information; 46.1% know the infection;
69.6% know how it is acquired; 31.5% know about the symptoms and 57.1% know
what can be done to avoid infection; 17.7% declared to have acquired the
infection at least once in their lifetime; 62.3% reported total or partial
immersion in collections of water of Bananal, once or twice a week, 53.9%
of these for bathing or fishing. Although most (91.7%) households have treated
running water, are connected to the sewage network or have septic tanks,
9% of the people interviewed use to defecate on the field. It became clear
that the educational messages aimed at this population had not been adequate,
having failed to fulfil any expectations. The local people received only
piecemeal and subjective information about their problem. The control of
schistosomiasis requires an integrated practice, which includes the analysis
of macro-determinant factors, such as basic sanitation, habitation, education
and health care. In short, we require a multidisciplinary vision of the
mechanisms of transmission of the infection, which depends upon adequate
planning and well trained personnel, intent on their educational work, to
attain satisfactory results.
Keywords
schistosomiasis - risk evaluation - health education - São Paulo - Brazil
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