Report on a preliminary survey by the WHO Bilharziasis Advisory Team in Upper Volta

The WHO Bilharziasis Advisory Team made a survey in Upper Volta during May and June 1960. Data available indicate that S. haematobium is widely scattered throughout the country and that about 50% of the population, or more than 1.5 million people, are infected at some time during their lives. The examination of faeces is not a common practice, and it is therefore impossible to estimate the prevalence of S. mansoni and the intestinal helminths. The available evidence indicates, however, that S. mansoni is more prevalent in the country than is generally suspected. The distribution of the known snail habitats and the bilharziasis foci indicate that most of the major watersheds are infested, but that transmission sites may be rather sharply defined. It will be necessary to take this and various seasonal factors into consideration in planning a bilharziasis control programme.An analysis of the various public health problems in the country indicated that a programme of bilharziasis control would not be of practical value unless it was combined with a general attack on filth- and vector-borne diseases, and that it was essential to consider such a programme in conneixon with plans for the development of water and soil resources.