Publication:

Prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium infection among school aged children in Ohaukwu local government area, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Background Urinary schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium, remains a significant health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa particularly Nigeria. The study investigated the prevalence of the infection among school-age children in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

Methods A total of 570 pupils (308 males, 262 females) from 10 primary schools were examined using microscopy technique. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to collect demographic information, asses the level of knowledge and risk factors of schistosomiasis among the pupils.

Results The overall prevalence was 15.1% (86/570), with males more infected (17.9%) than females (11.8%). The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Children in the age 11-15 had the highest infection rate 20.5% (62/302) than other age groups. Chi-square test showed that the differences in prevalence among the age groups were statistically significant (p=0.001). Among the component schools, infection was highest in State Primary School Ekwashi Ngbo 36.7% (18/49). The overall mean intensity was 11.35 eggs/10 ml of urine with females having a higher mean intensity (13.26 egg/10 ml of urine) than males (10.27 eggs/10 ml of urine). Most pupils (89.5%) had light infection. Pupils of age group 6-10 years mean egg intensity (17.72 eggs/10 ml of urine) was highest. Mean intensity of S. haematobium infection was found to decrease with advancement in age. Knowledge of the infection was poor, with 95.79% of participants having no knowledge.

Conclusions Extensive campaign on the awareness of the disease and scale-up of mass drug administration of praziquantel to help in the control of the disease is highly recommended.