AFJOG

ORIGINAL RESEARCH African Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology | Volume 3 | Issue 2 | 2025 | Prevalence of female genital schistosomiasis in women with abnormal Pap smears at King Edward VIII Hospital, KwaZulu-Natal was an oversight. Furthermore, due to the retrospective nature of the study, incomplete data and lack of follow-up might have impacted the study's findings. CONCLUSION This local study found the prevalence of histologically diagnosed FGS from cervical tissue of 2.09%. Cervical cytology performed poorly compared to histology for FGS detection and cannot be recommended as a screening tool. Alternative affordable options should be explored. Identification of lesions have been described on colposcopy, however, due to poor training of identification of pathognomonic lesions, this was not included. Colposcopes with artificial intelligence capabilities are being trialed and may help to enhance pick up of cases. Schistosome genomic studies are still in the early phases and may provide important information for further drug targets and prophylactic vaccine development. Recommendations: • Improve cytologist training to distinguish HSIL from inflammatory changes caused by FGS. • Improve healthcare professional training in identifying FGS lesions during colposcopy examination. • Conduct cervical screening promptly inwomenwith persistent vaginal discharge or other lower genital tract symptoms. • Follow the WHO recommendation to administer early, repeated, and routine treatment with Praziquantel to populations at risk. Declarations: None Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank the King Edward VII Hospital administration and the nursing staff for their assistance. Author contributions: All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by JM. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. REFERENCES ’ ˜  ’ – ¤ •   ” ƒ„…† ™ Ž ƒšŠ “ ŽŽ Ž „ ‰…ŠŽ – ƒ„…Žƒ„ ˆ„ˆƒ‰ ƒ  ’¢  ¢ ž ž ž” ˜ ž ¤¥“ ƒ„ Š†Š …Š “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž– ” ƒ„ Š „‡ „„ ‹ ¢  ’ •  • ” ” ’ ““ ”   ‚œ¡ —  ” ” ” ˜ “ ’ ‚ ƒ„ƒ † „ˆ™‡šƒ„……ƒ„‡ˆ “ ŽŽ Ž „ ˆƒ‡ŠŽ – ƒ„„‡‰Š ˆ ˜ ž   ’ — ” ¤ ’  ¤ ˜  ”  “   “ œ ƒ„ƒˆ†‹Š™ š……‹ “ ŽŽ Ž „ ˆ „ƒ·ƒ – ‹Š……‹ …’ ¤ ž ¢ ‘ ’  – “ ” ” “ “ œ œ ” ƒ„ ˆ†Œƒ™ š‹…„‹……“ ŽŽ Ž „ ƒŒ·ƒœ œ „ „‡„ ‹ ‡ ˜ ’” “  “ “  “  —      ” •ž  € ˜  ˜ € ‘ ”  •¢ ˜ “ ƒ„ƒ‹† ‰™‰š „„ ˆ‡…“ ŽŽ Ž „ ‹‰ Ž– ” “ „„ ˆ‡… ‰ •  •  ¢ ” ¢ ˜  ’ ž     ž  “ “  ž – ” ƒ„ ‡† ‹ „ “ ŽŽ Ž „ ˆ „‹·ƒ ‰ˆƒ‡ˆ ‹ Œ„‰Œˆ Œ ‘ ˜  ’ ” ” ¢ – ¤ ” ¤  ±” ” “  ” œ¢ ”˜ ” ” ” ‚  ” ” •  ” œ ƒ„ ‰†‹ƒ™ˆš ‹ƒ ‹‰ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „Œ„Žƒ‹ ƒ„„…‹ ƒ„ ‰ ‹‹…Š‰ˆ Š ¤ ’   “”   “ ““  ’ž• ‚ ƒ„ƒ‹† ™‹šƒˆ‰ƒ…‰ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž– “ ƒ„ƒ‹ „ˆ „„‰ „ ’” ¯ ‚ € ‚ ¦ ”  “ “ ƒ¬‹ ‐ ‐ “   œ  ¦ƒ„ ‡† ‹ƒ™‹šƒ…ƒ ƒ…Œ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž – – ƒ„…„‰ „‹Œ ž  ‘” ” ¢ €¤ ž‚ ‚” ¢ ƒ„ ˆ†‹Œ‹™ŠŠ‹‡šƒƒ…‹ƒƒ‡ˆ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž „ ˆ„‡‰‹‡™ ‹š‡ ŠˆŠƒ ƒ € ‚ ¦   “ —  “   €‚¦ ƒ„…“ ŽŽ Ž“”Ž Ž Ž Š‰ŒŠƒˆ…„ŠƒŠŠ ™ „ˆ “ ƒ„ƒˆš ‹ §° ’‚ ˜  ’    ” “ “  “ œ  ¦ƒ„ƒ †…‹™ƒš Š„ ŠŠ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „„ƒŽ – ‹…‹Œ ˆ ž ¡ ¢ ‚  ”““  ™ š “  œ • ƒ„ ‡†ˆ‡™‰š‹Š…ˆ„ˆ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž– –“ ƒ„ ‡ „ƒ „„‡ … ““  ‚ ‚ ”— ” ¤ ” ” ”  ”   ”  ” ” •¢ ¦ ƒ„ Œ† ‹™ƒš „ Š ˆ…Š “ ŽŽ Ž „ ‹‰ ·ƒ– ” “ „ Š ˆ…Š ‡ • • ¤ ‘  ¢ ‚” ”   ” œ   ¤˜ ‚ ˜ ¤ ¤  ˜• ‚” ¸ ˜ “ ’ ¤ œ ” ¤  ƒ„ƒ„ƒ‹ƒ¬ƒ‡‡ “ŽŽ ¥ Ž „ „ ‡Ž ‘Š‰Œ„‹ƒ‹………ƒŒ „„„‹ ˆ ‰ ¤ € ˜’ ‚œ¡ “  “   ”  “ ‚œ¡ œ ƒ„ ˆ†ƒŒ™ˆš…„‰¬…ˆ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „Š‰·ƒ£ „„„„„„„„„„„„„ˆ ƒ Œ € ’ € ¡ — ‘  ‚œ¡ •¢ ˜ “ ƒ„ Œ† ƒ™ ƒš „„„‡Š„ƒ “ ŽŽ Ž „ ‹‰ ·ƒ– ” “ „„„‡Š„ƒ Š €   „„  ³ •  ƒ„ƒ„† ˆ‰™…š…„‰…… “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‰Ž „„‹ Œƒ„ƒ„„„„„ˆŠ ƒ„ ƒ„ € ‚ ¦ €‚¦ ” ”   €‚¦ ƒ„ƒƒ “ ŽŽ Ž“”Ž Ž Ž Š‰ŒŠƒˆ„„ˆ ‡„Œ ™ „ˆ “ ƒ„ƒˆš ƒ —  • ˜ ” • œ ” ƒ„ ‹†‹…ƒŠ…‹„ “ ŽŽ Ž „ ·ƒ“ ƒ„ˆ„ ƒƒ € ‚ ¦ ¤ ”  “  “ “ ƒ„ƒ ¬ƒ„‹„   €‚¦ ƒ„ƒ„ “ ŽŽ  Ž“”Ž Ž ŽŠ‰ŒŠƒˆ„„…ƒŠ‹ƒ ™ „ˆ “ ƒ„ƒˆš ƒ‹ ‚ • ‚ €   —  ‚œ¡Ž œ    •¢ ˜ “ ƒ„ Š† ‹™ˆš „„„‰„ƒ…“ ŽŽ Ž „ ‹‰ ·ƒ– ” “ „„„‰„ƒ…„ ˆ‡ˆ„ƒŠ “ ŽŽ Ž „……Žƒ„ ˆŽ‡ˆ„ƒŠ African Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology | Volume 3 | Issue 2 | 2025 | 20