Distribution Pattern of Human Urinary Schistosomiasis in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Human urinary schistosomiasis is a severe parasitic infectious disease in many rural communities in tropical Africa. The status of infection in Kwara State is inadequately documented. We, therefore, investigated distribution pattern of infection amongst school-aged children in the three Senatorial Districts of the state. Of 3757 urine samples examined, 670 (17.8%) were infected with 8.9% in Central, 13.5% in South and 28.7% in the North Senatorial districts. The overall geometric mean intensity and mean population egg load were 347.3 and 61.9 eggs per 10 mL urine respectively. Generally, infection is age and sex dependent (p<0.05). Males had significantly higher prevalence and intensity of infections than the female (20.6%, 361 eggs/10 mL of urine vs. 14.3%, 340 eggs/10 mL of urine; p<0.0001). A high eggcounts of 412.25 eggs/10 mL urine was recorded among 16-20 years age group in Kwara central. In this study, 27.2 and 10.7% were moderately and heavily infected respectively. There is a significant association between intensity of infection and prevalence of haematuria and proteinuria among the infected population (p<0.0001). Our findings show that urinary schistosomiasis is endemic among kwaran schoolchildren and further study is recommended to reveal the essentials attributable risk factors of infection in the endemic communities.

Gender-related differences in prevalence, intensity and associated risk factors of Schistosoma infections in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…This was attributed to snail abundance in temporary water bodies in both studies. Amongst the studies that report a significantly higher prevalence of infection in males, 16 studies [22,38,40,41,43,50,[55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64], attribute this difference to gender-specific water-contact activities in which males tend to have more frequent water contact either because of cultural or religious beliefs, occupational reasons, or social roles.…”

Urinary Schistosomiasis Prevalence and Diagnostic Performance of Reagent Strip at Point-of-Care

“…The infection status and prevalence of schistosomiasis are high in children and adolescents [7] compared to adults [8]. Moreover, infection is also high in males compared to females in some regions where males visit river bodies more than females [9]. However, some are of the opinion that infection rates in females are higher compared to males because females are involved in washing clothes, utensils, and farm products in river bodies.…”