Prevalence and Intensity of Schistosoma Haematobium in Odau Community in the Niger Delta; Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Studies on the prevalence and intensity of schistosomiasis were conducted in Odau community in the Niger Delta Area of Nigeria. Urine samples collected three times a day for four consecutive days from 1266 inhabitants of Odau community were examined using the urine filtration technique for the presence of ova of Schistosoma haematobium. The overall prevalence of the infection was 70.1(888/1266). Of the persons infected; 73.3(483/659) were males while 66.7(405/607) were females; the difference between the sexes being significant (x2 = 6.64; p0.05). People of all ages were infected with peak prevalence of 91.1among inhabitants aged 10-14 years for both sexes. The observed differences in prevalence between age groups was also significant (x2 = 136; p0.05). the intensity of infection expressed as geometric mean egg count (GMEC) was 33.4 ova/10 ml urine. Males also had a higher intensity (GMEC; 35.33) than females (31.34) with a peak intensity among inhabitants aged 10-14 years in both sexes. The prevalence and intensity of infection by occupation was highest among pupils. There was a significant positive correlation between prevalence and intensity of infection (r