Prevalence and pattern of parasitic infestations among nomadic Fulani children in a grazing reserve in Northwestern Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Background: Nomadic pastoralists lack access to basic sanitary and health-care facilities mainly because their mode of life makes them a hard to reach group. In the Nigerian context, there is dearth of knowledge about the interplay between their lifestyle and health indices.Therefore, this study is aimed at determining the association between the prevalence of parasitic infestation among nomadic Fulani children in Ladduga grazing reserve, Kaduna, Northwestern Nigeria. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and pattern of parasitic infestation among nomadic Fulani children in Ladduga grazing reserve, Kaduna, Northwestern Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using questionnaires, physical examination, automated hemocytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based serum ferritin assay, and formol-ether concentration-based stool tests on 337 children (5­15 years) at Ladduga grazing reserve, Northwestern Nigeria. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: The prevalence of parasitic infestation was 14.4% (49/337). The predominant parasites found were hookworm species, i.e., Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale (46.9%) and Schistosoma mansoni (26.6%) while Ascaris lumbricoides, Hymenolepis nana, and Enterobius vermicularis accounted for 26.6%. Anemia was found in 40.4% (137/340) of the children with a statistically significant difference between younger (5­9 years) and older children (10­15 years; P < 0.05). Of those with parasites in the stools, 53% of children had anemia. Iron deficiency anemia was found in only 8.1% (4/49) of children. Conclusion: The prevalence of anemia was high in the studied population, but iron deficiency was not a major cause despite hookworm infestation, thus necessitating the need for further studies to identify other causes of anemia among this group