{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,26]],"date-time":"2026-10-26T18:39:21Z","timestamp":1793039961471,"version":"4.5.0"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014013","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,26]],"date-time":"2026-10-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792972800000}}],"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792540800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004587","name":"Instituto de Salud Carlos III","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PI23CIII00034"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PI23CIII00034"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004587","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Women for Africa Foundation"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosntds.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Negl Trop Dis"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, causing substantial morbidity and millions of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Although the WHO aims to eliminate schistosomiasis as a public health problem in several countries by 2030, current epidemiological data on schistosomiasis in Zambia are insufficient to adequately characterize transmission patterns, identify priority intervention areas, and inform the planning and evaluation of control programmes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We assessed the prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis among school-age children in two peri-urban districts of Lusaka (Chongwe and Kafue). A total of 208 participants were enrolled, and infection status was determined using urine filtration microscopy, ELISA, and quantitative PCR (qPCR).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Urogenital schistosomiasis prevalence was significantly higher in Chongwe than in Kafue, as determined by both microscopy and qPCR. By microscopy, 34 of 48 positive cases (70.8%) were from Chongwe and 14 (29.2%) from Kafue (\u03c7\u00b2\u2009=\u20094.82; P\u2009&lt;\u20090.05). Similarly, qPCR revealed a prevalence of 73.9% in Chongwe and 27.84% in Kafue (\u03c7\u00b2\u2009=\u200914.31; P\u2009&lt;\u20090.01). No significant association was observed between sex and infection status. However, infection was significantly associated with age across the study population.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our findings demonstrate that urogenital schistosomiasis remains highly prevalent in the peri-urban districts of Chongwe and Kafue in Lusaka Province, Zambia, highlighting ongoing transmission and the need for strengthened surveillance and control efforts. These results provide updated information on the epidemiological situation of urogenital schistosomiasis in Zambia and will support planning and implementation within the WHO NTD agenda.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0014013","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T17:55:18Z","timestamp":1792605318000},"page":"e0014013","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Schistosoma haematobium infection among school age children in two peri-urban areas of Lusaka, Zambia: A cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Mable M.","family":"Mutengo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Basic and Biomedical Sciences, Levy Mwanawasa Medical University","place":["Lusaka, 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