Patterns of intestinal schistosomiasis among mothers and young children from Lake Albert, Uganda: water contact and social networks inferred from wearable global positioning system dataloggers.

The establishment of a national control programme (NCP) in Uganda has led to routine treatment of intestinal schistosomiasis with praziquantel in the communities along Lake Albert. However, because regular water contact remains a way of life for these populations, re-infection continues to mitigate the sustainability of the chemotherapy-based programme. A six-month longitudinal study was conducted in one Lake Albert community with the aim of characterizing water contact exposure and infection among mothers and their young preschool-aged children as the latter are not yet formally included within the NCP.