Prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis among secondary school students in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

The objectives of the study are to quantify the burden of urinary schistosomiasis among junior students in a secondary school and to assess factors that may contribute to the prevalence of the disease among the student populace. Junior students in a secondary school located within 10 minutes walking distance to University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan were studied. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, involving class teachers as interviewers. A total of 592 students participated with a prevalence of 12.2% obtained by urine microscopy. The disease significantly affected more males (16.1%) than females (7.4%) (p<0.05). Also infections were found more in those in the age group 15 years and above (15.0%) compared to those in the age group 10-14 years (10.6%). High water contact prevalence of 62.5% was found and there were significant associations between all the reported water contact activities by the students and the presence of schistosome eggs in the urine (p<0.05). The study provided a supporting evidence of the endemicity of schistosomiasis especially among school children in our environment. The inclusion of health education package aimed at changing behavior of school children from adverse water contact practices was recommended.

Keywords: prevalence, urinary schistosomiasis, secondary school students.

The Tropical Journal of Health Sciences Vol. 13(2) 2006: 6-10