Human intestinal parasites among inmates of Keffi prison, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Feces of inmates of Keffi prison were investigated for the prevalence of intestinal parasites between May and June 2004, using the wet mount and formol-ether concentration techniques. Of the 167 inmates in the prison at the time of the study, 125 (74.85%) were infected with various intestinal parasites. Ascaris lumbricoides (20.96%), Entamoeba histolytica (19.76%), hookworms (19.16%), Schistosoma mansoni (7.18%), Entamoeba coli (6.58%) and Strogyloides stercoralis (1.19%) were recorded. Twenty-six (15.56%) inmates had mixed infection. The combination of hookworms/E. histolytica (5.38%) and A.lumbricoides/E histolytica (3.59%) dominated the cases of double infections. Triple infections manifested in two inmates. Higher infection rates (96.42%) were in 15 – 20 years old inmates. Inmates who had been in the prison for less than one month had 100% prevalence. Inmates that were farmers and artisans had 86.95% and 82.35% prevalence of infection respectively, while those that were civil servants had 30.76%. Higher prevalence of 78.57% and 78.12% were also recorded for inmates who were drinking water from the wells and streams respectively. Infection rates of 69.82% and 62.50% were equally observed among inmates that were using pit latrines and water cistern toilets respectively.

International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences Vol. 2(1) 2006: 7-11