Association of intestinal helminthic infection and nutritional status of primary school children in Gombe State, Nigeria

Background: Intestinal helminthic infections are among the commonest infections worldwide. It often affects the poorest communities and has similar geographic distribution with malnutrition. Intestinal helminthic infection contributes to undernutrition through subtle reduction in digestion and absorption of food, chronic inflammation and loss of nutrients. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminthic infection and its relationship with nutritional status of primary school children in Gombe, Gombe State, Nigeria. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study of 350 pupils selected through multistage random sampling technique from 24 primary schools in Gombe, Gombe State, Nigeria from July 2018 to January 2019. Demographic information including age, gender, height, and weight were collected from each participant with a designed collection form. The data were analysed using SPSS version 24.0, and presented as frequency distribution and mean ± SD. The Chisquare test (with Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval) was used to test for association between prevalence of helminthiasis and factors such as gender, age group and school type. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant at 95% confidence interval. Results: The prevalence of intestinal helminthic infection was 23.7% (83/350). Eighty (96.4%) of the 83 infected pupils were in public schools while only 3 (3.6%) were in private schools (p<0.001). The prevalence of helminthiasis was significantly higher in underweight pupils (34%, OR=2.113, p=0.0065)) and significantly lower (5.4%, OR=0.1637, p=0.0037) in overweight pupils while the prevalence was not significantly associated with normal weight (p=0.5482) or obesity (p=1.000). Conclusions: Intestinal helminthic infection is a public health problem in children with adverse significant relationship with nutritional status. Provision of toilet facilities in schools and periodic de-worming of pupils aimed at reducing loss of nutrients from intestinal helminthiasis are recommended.

Effect of litter composition from selected three pruning on growth and development of pepper [Capsicum annum]

The experiment was conducted to study the growth and development of pepper [Capsicum annum] grown on soil enriched with foliages from Leueaena Ieucocepha la, Ginelina arborea, Prosopis mimosa, Tectona grandis, Azadiracta indica and Damiella olverii. Top soil sample used for the experiment was collected from the University of Ilorin premises. Foliage from the selected tree species were collected, air dried and pulverized to a fine texture before mixing with soil. Dry pepper seeds were sown in the different soil mixture. The experiment was laid out as a Complete Randomized Design [CRD] with six treatments replicated thrice. Parameters evaluated include: Mean leaf area, Mean plant height and Mean leaf number. Samples of the air dried soil were taken before and after planting and used to determine total nitrogen, available phosphorus, organic matter content, potassium and soil pH. Results showed that the soil enriched with pruning from Azadiracta indica had the best performance in terms of the growth of pepper [Capsicum annum] as shown by the leaf area [2443.3 cm[2]], leaf number [55.0] and plant height [30.3cm] at 8 weeks after planting [SWAP], lire chemical composition of the soil also varied significantly among the treatments [P< 0.05] Prosopis mimosa had the best performance in terms of the pH amendment [6.6] and potassium content [2.8%] while Leucaena leucocephala had the best performance in term of nitrogen content [6.7%] and Organic matter content [5.4%]. Lastly, Daniella oliverii had the best performance in term of Phosphorus content [8.0]. In conclusion, pruning from Azcidiracta indica had the best performance in terms of the growth of Pepper