Vesical schistosomiasis in north eastern part of Imo state, Nigeria

Abstract

An investigation was carried out between September 2003 and January 2004 to determine the prevalence of vesical schistosomiasis in Okigwe Local Government Area, in the northeastern part of Imo State, Nigeria. A total of 851 persons in five communities aged between 0 and 50 years were examined. Of the 851 persons examined, 235 (27.6%) were positive for Schistosoma haematobium. Prevalence rates in the five communities ranged between 18.5% and 46.0% with an overall prevalence of 27.6%. More females (30.8%) than males (24.1%) were infected in all the age groups and high rate of hematuria (56.6%) was observed among the infected subjects. Prevalence of vesical schistosomiasis was significantly higher (77.9%) among those in the age group 11-20 years than those of 41-50 years (p<0.05). The intensity of infection showed that 61.7% of the infected subjects were excreting < 100 eggs/10 ml urine while 38.4% were excreting > 101 eggs/10 ml urine an indication that vesical schistosomiasis is a long standing disease in the northeastern part of Imo state, Nigeria. The use of community based-distributors in the diagnosis, free treatment of infected persons and health education of persons suffering from the disease is advocated.

Keywords: Schistosomiasis; water borne disease; tropical disease; Nigeria

International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences Vol. 2 (3) 2006: pp. 219-224