Genitourinary schistosomiasis among pre-primary schoolchildren in a rural community within the Cross River Basin, Nigeria

Abstract

In Africa, most schistosomiasis control programmes defined the age 5–19 years as the target population for nationwide control through the school systems, excluding the under fives. A study was therefore undertaken to determine the prevalence and intensity of genitourinary schistosomiasis in children aged 0–5 years (pre-primary) in Adim, a rural and endemic community within the Cross River Basin, Nigeria. Of the 126 children examined, 25 (19.8%) were infected with Schistosoma haematobium, with no significant difference (P > 0.05) in infection rates between boys (21.1%) and girls (18.2%). Both prevalence and intensity of infection increased significantly (P < 0.05) with age. The overall geometric mean egg count was 5.9 eggs/10 ml urine. There was no significant association (P > 0.05) between intensity in boys (6.2 eggs/10 ml urine) and girls (5.6 eggs/10 ml urine). A total of 32.5 and 27.8% of the children had haematuria and proteinuria, respectively; it was not gender specific (P > 0.05). Six species of snail were encountered, with Bulinus globosus being the most abundant and widespread. The results of this study have shown that pre-primary schoolchildren are a source of transmission of schistosomiasis in endemic communities and should be integrated into any control intervention.