Index of potential contamination for urinary schistosomiasis in five settlements near River Kubanni in Zaria

Abstract

Urinary schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma hasmatobium is a disease associated with water contact activities. Urine samples of 1,067 subjects living beside river Kubanni in Zaria (Nigeria) were screened in order to determine the prevalence of infection, intensity of infection among those infected was 77.7 eggs/10ml of urine. Prevalence in males (19.4%) was significantly higher than in females (3.11%; p<.0001).intensity of infection in males (86.6 eggs/ml urine), though higher than in females (18.4 eggs/ml urine), had no statistical significance (p>0.2).It was only in males that prevalence exhibited a variation with age (p<0.005). both indices of infection were generally highest in the 10-14 years age group. Children between the ages of 10-19 years contribute about 70.8%of the daily egg output excreted into the environmental contamination. The 10-14 year olds, which constituted 54.5% of the infected pollution, ranked highest among the age groups by contributing 71.6% to the contamination of environment.

The Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 24 2003: 95-101