Quantifying burden of disease caused by Tungiasis using disability adjusted life years metric among the children aged 5-14 years in Murang′a County, Kenya

Abstract

Tungiasis is a parasitic tropical disease caused by female Tunga penetrans which causes different disabilities among children. The objective of this study was to quantify health loss caused by the disease among children aged 5 to 14years using Disability Adjusted Life Years metric. A cross sectional descriptive research design was used for this study. Data on mortality was collected through verbal autopsy and desk top review of medical records. Morbidity was determined by physical examination of the children and sequelae reported by the children, parents and teachers. Measures of central tendencies and chi-square were used for data analysis. This study found that Tungiasis prevalence was 37% (74) in the endemic area but 44 % (153) among the children. A total of 0.3 Disability Adjusted  live years were lost due to Mild Tungiasis while 2.51 Disability Adjusted Life Years were lost due to severe Tungiasis. However, there was zero mortality due to Tungiasis among the children aged 5-14 years. Severe Tungiasis caused greater loss of health 8.4 times more than loss of health resulting from mild Tungiasis. In order to reduce Burden of disease caused by Tungiasis, effective and sustainable   management measures should be adopted.

Keywords: Tungiasis, child, burden of disease, health state, sequel, disability weights, morbidity and mortality.