Epidemiology of Taeniasis in Some Communities of Borrong, Demsa Local Government, Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Taeniasis in humans is a parasitic infection caused by the tapeworm species Taenia saginata (beef tapeworm), Taenia solium (pork tapeworm), and Taenia asiatica (Asian tapeworm). Humans can become infected with these tapeworms by eating raw or undercooked beef (T. saginata) or pork (T. solium and T. asiatica).
Objective: This is a community-based descriptive cross-sectional research designed to determine the epidemiology of taeniasis among the people of Borrong Community, Demsa Local Government Area, Adamawa State.
Methods: A total number of 376 individuals were randomly selected for the study sites, from three villages which are Borrong, Dilli, and Gwamba. The data was collected using a well-structured questionnaire alongside their stool samples. Statistical analyses were done using IBM, SPSS Statistics Version 20 (IBM. Somers, NY).
Result: Out of the 376 individuals selected for the study, 129 subjects were positive for taeniasis infection with a prevalence of 34.3%. Other parasites found alongside taeniasis were: Hookworm was the highest 172 (45.8%), followed by A. lumbricoides 148 (39.4%), Taenia spp 129 (34.3%), T. Trichuria 45 (12%), E. coli 9 (2.4%), and the least being S. stercolaris 3 (0.8%). Out of the 129 persons infected, 19 (5.1%) had double infection while no triple was reported. Majority of the study population had light-intensity infection 90 (69.8%), followed by moderate-intensity infection 11 (8.5%) and the least intensity was among those who had heavy 2 (1.6%).