Prevalence of bacterial infections in nomadic fulani herdsmen of Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Over the years, nomadic Fulani herdsmen have established different settlement camps outside the traditional villages of their indigenous host communities in Ebonyi State. With increasing concerns about the health condition of the nomads, this study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence and distribution of bacterial infection amongst the spatially distributed population of the nomadic Fulani the state. A total of 1218 willing nomads were examined for bacteria infections between June 2006 and August 2007. Urine, stool and blood samples were collected from the herdsmen and their children using standard bacteriological techniques. Out of the 1218 samples taken from 7 bush encampments, 677(55.6%) had various bacterial infections. Results showed that Enterococci sp (30.3%) and Neisseria sp (23.3%) infections were predominant when compared to Enterobacter sp (20.0%), Staphylococci sp (14.2%) and Acinetobacter sp (0.3%) infections of the population. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords: Bacteria infection, nomadic Fulani, herdsmen, cattle, Nigeria