BackgroundThe national burden of genito-urinary schistosomiasis in Nigeria has been expressed by an estimate of 101.3 million people at risk with an alarming figure of 29 million infected. Report obtained from respondents about Praziquantel® distribution and the obviously prevalent haematuria without any control programme in place justified the need for data on the prevalence, intensity of infection and associated risk factors which were the objectives this cross-sectional survey sought to address.MethodsA total of 718 students aged 10–23 years from the study area were surveyed between May and August, 2015. Data on socio-demographic and risk factors were obtained using structured questionnaires. Clean universal bottles with corresponding labels were offered for sample collection between 10:00 am and 13:30 pm. Centrifuged samples were microscopically examined and intensity of infection was recorded per 10 ml of each sample.ResultsPrevalence of genito-urinary schistosomiasis was 22.7 % with a mean intensity of 25.05 (± standard deviation, ± 71.51) eggs/10 ml of urine. Higher prevalence (19.5 %) and mean intensity (28.7 eggs/10 ml of urine) was recorded among boys. Sex (χ2 = 77.065, P < 0.0001), age group 16–18 (χ2 = 5.396, P = 0.0202), altitude (χ2 = 8.083, P = 0.0045), unwholesome water sources (χ2 = 27.148, P < 0.0001), human recreational activities (χ2 = 122.437, P < 0.0001), mothers’ occupation (χ2 = 6.359, P = 0.0117), farming (χ2 = 6.201, P = 0.0128) and other brown collar jobs (χ2 = 4.842, P = 0.0278) in fathers’ occupational category were found to be significantly associated with urogenital schistosomiasis. Boys were seven times more likely to be infected compared to girls [AOR (95 % CI): 7.3 (4.26–12.4)]. Age group 16–18 years was four times more likely to be infected compared to age group 10–12 years [AOR (95 % CI): 4.43 (2.62–7.49)]. Similarly, respondents with farming as fathers’ occupation were twice more likely to be infected than those whose fathers were civil servants [AOR (95 % CI): 2.08 (1.2–3.59)].ConclusionsDutsin-Ma and Safana were classified as moderate-risk Local Government Areas (LGA). Sex, altitude, unwholesome water sources and mothers’ occupation were identified as the determining epidemiological factors in the prevalence of the disease. Sustainable chemotherapeutic intervention with Praziquantel®, good network of treated pipe-borne water, health education and waste disposal facilities are highly recommended to reduce its prevalence below the threshold of public health significance.

The main purpose of the study is to identify the practice of Almajiri: prospect and socio-medical challenges in Sabon Gari Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey method was adopted using a cluster and sampling method. Questionnaire was used to collect the data, from three hundred male Almajiri. The study revealed that most of the respondents were between the ages of 8-14 years while very few were 15 years and above. Also, majority of the respondents did not attend formal school. Parental belief, goals and poverty were found to be the major reasons for the practices of Almijiri. Most of the respondents spent their time begging for food to eat and money. Also, a majority of them defecate in the bush, which endangers the health of society by the spread of diseases. Hunger and tiredness were found to be a major complaint of the respondents, and sleeping in a congested room on a mat. Appropriate recommendations are finally offered in the areas of re-orientation programmes, general skill development, and modernization of teaching Qur'an.

BackgroundHuman schistosomiasis is a chronic parasitic disease of poverty caused by the cercariae of digenetic trematodes of the genus Schistosoma. The disease is a major source of morbidity and mortality in 77 low- and middle-income countries in the tropics where 700 million people are at risk. In a bid to provide relevant epidemiological information to boost control of urogenital schistosomiasis at the state level in Nigeria, we conducted this study with the aim of investigating the disease’s prevalence and intensity, and the determinant factors responsible for its endemicity.MethodsData on risk factors were obtained from a total of 645 students aged 12─25 years using well- designed questionnaires. Samples were collected between 09:45 and 14:00 in universal bottles. Each10μl centrifuged sample was examined for the eggs of S. haematobium using Motic® (Binocular) Light Microscope (model S-10-P) with a x10 objective. Average infection intensity was recorded as number of eggs per 10 ml of urine sample. Survey data were entered into Microsoft Excel 2010 and analyzed using Epi Info™ 7. Associations among variables were determined using the chi square test and bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions.ResultsPrevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis was 30.54 % among the study population, with a mean infection intensity of 30.27 eggs/10 ml of urine. Prevalence and average intensity were higher in males (28.37 % and 32.21 eggs/10 ml of urine respectively) than in females (2.17 % and 5 eggs/10 ml of urine respectively). Water contact activities (X2  = 29.031, P = 0.0000), sex (male) [X2  = 109.82; P<0.0001], location (Dutsin─Ma) [X2  = 7.19; P = 0.0073], age group 18-20 (X2  = 4.819, P = 0.0281), altitude (531─560 m) [X2  = 6.84, p = 0.0089], fathers doing other brown─collar jobs (X2  = 8.449, P = 0.0037) and mothers’ occupation (X2  = 9.470, P = 0.0021) were found to be significantly associated with urogenital schistosomiasis. Boys were six times more likely to be infected with the cercariae of S. haematobium compared to girls [AOR (95 % CI): 6.34 (4.89─8.22)].ConclusionsDutsin-Ma and Safana were classified as moderate-risk Local Government Areas for urogenital schistosomiasis. The strong association between the disease and mother’s occupation is of utmost importance and suggests a promising control measure: that is, directing health education as well as grassroots mass chemotherapeutic intervention with praziquantel at mothers. A good network including treated pipe-borne water, drainage system, and sewage disposal facilities available should be improved upon. Molluscicides should be provided at highly subsidized rate to help control the disease.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40249-016-0158-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundIn sub-Saharan Africa, over 200 million individuals are estimated to be infected with urinary and intestinal schistosomiasis. In a bid to lay a foundation for effective future control programme, this study was carried out with the aim of assessing the diagnostic efficacy of some questionnaire-based rapid assessment indices of urinary schistosomiasis.MethodologyA total number of 1,363 subjects were enrolled for the study. Questionnaires were administered basically in English and Hausa languages by trained personnel. Following informed consent, terminal urine samples were collected between 09:40 AM and 2:00 PM using clean 20 ml capacity universal bottles. 10μl of each urine residue was examined for the eggs of S. haematobium using x10 objective nose of Motic Binocular Light Microscope (China).Principal findingsThe average age ± Standard Deviation (SD) of school children examined was 15.30 ± 2.30 years and 40.87% were females. The overall prevalence and geometric mean intensity of S. haematobium infection were 26.41% (24.10─28.85) and 6.59 (5.59─7.75) eggs / 10 ml of urine respectively. Interestingly, a questionnaire equivalence of the prevalence obtained in this survey was 26.41% (24.10─28.85) for Rapid Assessment Procedure based on self-reported blood in urine. The results of correlation analyses demonstrated significant associations between the prevalence of S. haematobium infection and contact with potentially infested open water sources (r = 0.741; P = 0.006). By regression model, cases of respondents with self-reported blood in urine are expected to rise to 24.75% if prevalence of the infection shoots up to 26.5%.Conclusions/SignificanceThe best RAP performance was obtained with self-reported blood in urine. Based on the overall prevalence value, the study area was at a “moderate-risk” of endemicity for urinary schistosomiasis. Chemotherapeutic intervention with Praziquantel, the rationale behind rapid assessment procedure for schistosomiasis, has been recommended to be carried out once in every 2 years for such communities.

People in Katsina State, Nigeria have been using medicinal plants to cure several ailments associated with liver since time immemorial; however the use of such plants was never documented. In this study, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted to document the medicinal plants used for the management of hepatic ailments in Katsina State, Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire method was adopted to interview 150 respondents (50 respondents from 1 Local Government Area of each of the three Senatorial Zones of the State) comprising herbalist, farmers, house wives, and others. A total of 62 plant species belonging to 57 genera distributed among 34 families were documented. Most of the reported plants belong to the Fabaceae (24.19%), Moraceae (6.45%), followed by Anacardiaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Asteraceae (each with 4.84%). Senna occidentalis L., Ficus thonningii Bl., and Moringa oleifera Lam. had the highest relative frequency of citation (RFC) of 0.75, 0.64, and 0.53 respectively. Majority (38.71%) of the reported plants were trees and about 79.03% of the surveyed plants are sourced from wild. Leaves were the most frequently used (45.16%) plants part. Most of the herbal medicines (80.65%) were prepared in form of decoction and all the medicines were administered orally. This is the first ethnobotanical study on hepatic ailments in the study area. Results of the study could serve as baseline data based on which further ethnopharmacological investigations would be carried out. Further researches aimed at conserving as well as validating the folkloric use of the surveyed plants would be ideal.