[School absenteeism due to dracunculosis in Benin].

A study was undertaken in the Benin Republic to determine the effect of Guinea Worm on school attendance. Five sentinel villages were chosen in the most endemic region of the country. These villages were observed in-depth during four years. Weekly inspections were done during the transmission season and bi-weekly inspections were done outside this season. During the later part of the study a questionnaire was distributed nation-wide. In the sentinel villages all inhabitants were counted, all new cases were recorded, the status of old cases was recorded to measure the duration of the disease. Patients were evaluated as mobile or bed-ridden. The school attendance records were also used as well as direct counting. Nationally a questionnaire was completed by all teachers in 2,840 primary school at the close of major emergence season in April 1988. In sentinel villages 17.7% of school age children suffered from Guinea Worm annually. The average duration of the disease was 104 days of which they were bed-ridden for 32 days. The correlation between the incidence and the percentage of missed class days was significant (r = 0.82; p less than 0.001). Nationally the incidence was 1.62% but varied widely by region. 40% of the infected children during the study were absent from school the day of the study. There was a strong correlation between incidence and the prevalence the day of the study (r = 0.96; p less than 0.00001). The results of this study confirm the high school absenteeism reported by other authors. In addition to directly caused absenteeism, secondary absenteeism in heavily infected villages is due to replacement in roles normally filled by the sick. Similar studies in schools can serve to measure prevalence, incidence and absenteeism since the correlation is extremely strong (p less than 0.00001) between each of the factors and to evaluate, with 20% approximation, the incidence of dracunculiasis in general population.