Main Article Content

The effects of subclinical bilharziasis on mental ability in school children


WM Castle
V De V Clarke
E Hendrikz

Abstract

Many people in the world are suffering from bilharziasisa disease costly not only to the individual, but also at national level. The price paid by individuals with bilharziasis in terms of scholastic achievement is evaluated both cross-sectionally and longitudinally in White schoolchildren. Although children with bilharziasis had on average a lower intelligence quotient (IQ) than those without, this was shown not to be a result of the disease process, but an associated finding caused by probably a difference in social background. Bilharziasis does not affect intelligence, but causes susceptibility to mental fatigue affecting the scores attained in tests where accuracy and speed in productivity are required.

S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 2035 (1974).

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 2078-5135
print ISSN: 0256-9574