A study of urinary schistosomiasis in Umueze-Anam, Anambra State,
Nigeria, showed a Schistosoma haematobium infection of 26% (85) among school
children with no significant difference by sex except when age as a variable
is introduced. Eleven percent (37) of the 333 children were positive for
haematuria; all these 37 children lived within 1·0 km of the water sources. Of
the 85 infected children, swimming and laundering accounted for 65% and 48% of
all water contact activities, for boys and girls respectively. One-third of
the 230 adults interviewed believed haematuria to be a venereal disease and
20% thought it was a sign of maturity. Individual perception of causation and
seriousness of haematuria differed by level of education and by sex. Less than
2% of the
respondents knew that snails
transmitted the disease. The effects of social restrictions on the
epidemiology of infection is discussed.