Prevalence of Ascariasis among the Students of Jooro Grammar School, Ibule-Soro, Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Ascariasis is a human disease caused by the parasitic roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides.Perhaps as many as one quarter of the world’s people are infected, with rates of 45% in Latin America and 95% in parts of Africa .Ascariasis is particularly prevalent in tropical regions and in areas of poor hygiene. Study to know the prevalence of ascariasis among the students and teachers of Jooro Grammar School, Ibule-Soro, Ondo State, was undertaken. A total of 243 subjects examined. Stool sample was collected from each subject and examined for the presence of the parasite, using wet preparation and concentration methods with the aid of light microscope. From the total population of 243 subjects recruited for the study, 102 were males while 141 were females of different age groups. The research showed that 42(41.2%)  of the males were positive to ascariasis while 54 (38.3%) of the females were also positive to the infection, amounting to 96 (40%) of the total population. The study showed that there was high prevalence of ascariasis infection among the students of Jooro Grammar School, Ibule-Soro, OndoState,thus there is need for government  intervention programme for sustainable elimination of this  disease.