Surveillance results of epidemic situation of goat schistosomiasis in Dantu district, Zhenjiang city
SHEN Xue-hui1, WANG Lin2, LI Ye-fang1, YANG Wei-hua3
1. Dantu District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212028, China; 2. Zhenjiang Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212003, China; 3. Animal Epidemic Prevention and Control Center of Dantu District, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212028, China
Abstract:Objective To investigate the epidemic situation of goat schistosomiasis in the area of the Yangtze River in Dantu district, Zhenjiang city so as to provide a scientific basis for formulating prevention and control strategy of goat schistosomiasis. Methods We annually conducted longitudinal observations on the state of goat schistosomiasis, goat feces in marshland environments, water body infectivity in the open goat pasture, schistosomiasis status of residents, Oncomelania hupensis (O. hupensis) status, and prevention and control measures in the area of the Yangtze River from 2009 to 2019, and then analyzed the results. Results A total of 12,076 goats in the area of the Yangtze River in 2009-2019 were tested, and feces samples of 57 goats were found to be positive, with the Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) infection rate of 0.47%. 46 goats with high infection intensities (“+++” or “++++”) were detected among the goats positive for feces test, accounting for 80.70% of the total. The proportion of goat feces in the marshland environments accounted for 96.30% of the total wild feces, with the positive rate of goat feces tests being 9.10%, but other wild feces were negative. Surveillance of high-risk water area of the Yangtze River revealed that there were 6 sites with positive sentinel mice during 2009-2011. Serological screening tests for schistosomiasis were performed in the residents, reaching 124,009 person-times, and 3 residents were positive for feces test, with the S. japonicum infection rate of 0.003%. The accumulated area with O. hupensis snails in the marshland was 1,066.40 hm2, and the area with S. japonicum-infected snails in 2009 was 13.56 hm2. After implementing comprehensive prevention and control measures like weeding out the S. japonicum-infected goats, rearing goats in pens, replacing goats with birds, chemotherapy for patients and livestock, snail and larvae control, and health education, no S. japonicum-infected snails were detected since 2009, no body water positive for S. japonicum and patients positive for feces test were found since 2011, and no goats and wild feces positive for feces test were detected for seven consecutive years since 2012. Conclusions The epidemic situation of goat schistosomiasis in the monitored area of the Yangtze River in Dantu district has been effectively controlled, but there is still a large area with O. hupensis snails and wild feces from open grazing goats in the marshland of the Yangtze River. Therefore, comprehensive prevention and control measures for goat schistosomiasis and surveillance should be strengthened.