Helminthes Eggs Recovered from Polluted Irrigation Water in some parts of Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Irrigation waters from rivers and mining ponds insome parts of Plateau State were examined from the presence of helminth eggs using centrifugal-floatation technique between 1996 and 1997. The results showed that helminth eggs were present in varying amounts in all the 672 samples of water taken from each of the fourteen sources examined. Hookworm eggs occurred in the highest concentration in both the river and pond samples. Ascaris eggs were detected from the pond samples, and at levels comparable to river samples except for the Dilimi and Farin-Gada river samples which were significantly higher. Toxocara eggs were detected more frequently from pond samples than from the river water sources, while Trichuris eggs were more evenly distributed in the two water sources. The public health risks associated with the helminth eggs recovered are further discussed.


Journal of Aquatic Sciences Volume 16, April 2001, pp. 39-42



KEY WORDS:

Helminth eggs, irrigation, polluted water.