Prevalence and intensity of urinary schistosomiasis and their effects on packed cell volume of pupils in Jaba LGA, Nigeria

Aims: Urinary schistosomiasis is a persistent health burden among African children. They are mostly unaware of the risks of transmission of schistosomiasis via cercariae-infested water bodies and hence more infections occur. This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence and intensity of urinary schistosomiasis and their effects on packed cell volume (PCV), and the association of the disease with some sociodemographic and risks factors among pupils in Jaba LGA of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Methods: Awareness lectures were organized in preselected public primary schools. A total of 505 pupils volunteered to participate in the study. From each volunteered pupil, 10 ml urine and 2 ml blood samples were collected. The urine samples were concentrated by centrifugation; the sediments were examined microscopically using 10x and 40x objectives for Schistosoma haematobium egg(s) while count/10 ml urine was recorded. Intensity categories were taken Henry Gabriel Bishop1, Helen Ileigo Inabo2, Elijah Ekah Ella3 Affiliations: 1BSc, MSc. (in view), Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria; 2BSc, MSc. , PhD. , Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria; 3BSc, MSc. , PhD. , Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Corresponding Author: Henry Gabriel Bishop, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria, 810001; E-mail: gabrielhenrybishop@gmail.com Received: 29 June 2016 Accepted: 03 October 2016 Published: 21 October 2016 as light infection (with <50 eggs/10 ml urine) and heavy infection (with >50 eggs/10 ml urine). Blood samples were used for PCV determination by microhematocrit centrifuge technique (HCT); anemic PCV was <34%, normal PCV was ≥34 and ≤45%, high PCV was ≥46%. Results and data on sociodemographic and risk factors were subjected to various statistical analyses at p = 0.05 with IBM SPSS Version 21. Results: An overall prevalence of 12.3% was obtained for urinary schistosomiasis. Three villages (Bitaro, Ankun and Kwoi) recorded the highest prevalence of the infection. However, the infection was absent in two villages (Nok and Sambang). The highest intensity among the pupils was 204 eggs/10 ml urine. The central area had the highest mean intensity of 6.77 eggs/10 ml urine. Areas of highest prevalence did not coincide with areas of highest intensity. The infection and its intensity were higher among the females (15.5%, 4.18 eggs/10 ml urine) than the males (9.1%, 1.22 eggs/10 ml urine) respectively. Similarly, the females had higher light and heavy infections than the males. There was an observed increase of urinary schistosomiasis with increase in pupils’ class. Both the infection and its intensity had gradual ‘wave-like’ increases with rise in age of the pupils. Only two signs/symptoms (painful micturition, urine color), and one risk factor (‘Fadama’ farming) were statistically associated with urinary schistosomiasis. The prevalence of anemia was found to be 8.1% while 37.6% of the pupils had normal PCV; the remaining study population had abnormally highly PCV. There was a statistically significant association between urinary schistosomiasis and anemia among the pupils (χ2 = 11.870; df = 2; p = 0.003). Though anemia was recorded both among the infected and uninfected pupils, a higher occurrence of the anemia (17.7%) was observed in pupils infected with urinary schistosomiasis than those who were not infected (6.8%). The EDITO IAL OPEN A CE S ORIGINAL A ICLE PEER REVIEWED |