Seven hundred and eighty blood samples were obtained and examined using standard parasitological techniques. Of this number, 227 (25.5%) samples were infected with filarial spp as follows: Mansonella perstans 121 (43.8%), Wuchereria bancrofit 80 (28.8%), Loa loa 75 (27.1%) and Onchoceria volvulus 1 (0.3%). Peak infection (44.3%) occurred in the 30-39 years age bracket. The lowest infection rate was observed in the candidates above 70 years old. Microfilarial density (mfd) was highest in this age bracket. The lowest mfd occurred in 1-9 years old. Infection was higher (38.9%) in the males than in the females (33.9%). Higher infection in the males was attributed to fishing, which was predominantly a male occupation. Three of the five mosquito spp collected from the community hardboured microfilariae: Anopheles gambiae (9.5%), A-funestus (6.6%), Culex quinquefestus (4.1%), Anopheles nili (-%), Aedes aegypti (0%). The presence of the microfilariae confirms that filarial infections in the study area are endemic. Entomological survey was done in the night and insects that were active in day-time were not trapped. @ JASEM

No abstract