Impact of schistosomiasis on haematological parameters in the ahomey people of the so-ava lake District, Benin

Background: Schistosomiasis is the second most common parasitic disease after malaria. It is caused by trematodes of the genus Schistosoma. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of Schistosoma haematobium infestation on haematological parameters in So-ava, Benin, West Africa. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, prospective, descriptive study. Each participant underwent a urine parasitological test for schistosomiasis eggs and a blood count on a venous sample. Results: Of the 120 participants in this study, 93% were male and 38% were aged between 25 and 35 years. 1 in 2 participants carried Schistosoma haematobium, a prevalence of 50%. Almost all parasites were male and 63.63% of participants aged 25-35 years were parasitised. There was no statistically significant difference between the blood parameters of parasitised and non-parasitised participants. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference between the mean lymphocyte, basophil, neutrophil and neutrophil counts of parasitised and non-parasitised participants. On the other hand, there was a significant increase in the mean eosinophil polymorphonuclear count in parasitised subjects compared with non-parasitised subjects. Conclusions: Schistosoma haematobium bilharziasis in the study population did not have a significant effect on blood parameters, except for the eosinophil count, which we observed to be elevated in response to tissue migration of parasite larvae. Rethinking the control of schistosomiasis will help to significantly reduce its prevalence.