Implication of serum Nitric oxide and IgE in urinary schistosomiasis: The case of Bamendjing, Cameroon.

Background: Urinary schistosomiasis (US), also known as bilharziasis is a waterborne parasitic infection most common in rural areas of developing countries. The infection is associated with haematuria but little or nothing is known about its association with other urinary parameters, induction of Nitric Oxide (NO) and IgE production around the Bamendjing Dam an area highly suspected of Schistosoma haematobium infections. The study sought to address this problem for possible future interventions and control.

Materials and Methods: Urine samples were collected from 301 randomly selected participants and analysed for the presence of S. haematobium using the syringe filtration concentration method. Sera from patients infected with S. haematobium and also from some uninfected individuals were analysed for IgE and NO using ELISA and colorimetric methods respectively.

Findings: The results showed a prevalence of 16.9% (51/301). Sixty percent of the 49 patients with nitrite in their urine, were infected with urinary schistosomiasis (US) (30/49; p = 0.00). Meanwhile only 40% of the 15 patients with bilirubinuria were infected with US (6/15; p = 0.0241). The risk of patients with US having leucocytes and nitrites was high (OR of 1.3 and 1.7 respectively). Total IgE serum levels were significantly higher in patients with US (648.872 ± 223.142) compared to uninfected individuals (275.682 ± 181.674) (p = 0.00). Infected persons had heightened mean NO levels (2,583,617.647 ± 1,100,678.786) than non-infected participants (1,689,766.667 ± 1,163,084.729). Urinary Schistosomiasis in association with urinary parameters had a significant impact on mean IgE levels (F = 4.248, p = 0.022). Patients infected with Urinary Schistosomiasis alone had significantly higher mean total IgE levels than non-infected participants (p = 0.004).

Conclusion: Apart from haematuria, this study has demonstrated that Urinary Schistosomiasis is prevalent among inhabitants around the Bamendjing Dam and results in an increase of other urine parameters such as leucocytes and nitrates and high levels of serum NO and total serum IgE in patients. These parameters are important in the screening of patients for treatment and control of urinary schistosomiasis.

(Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)