Treatment of Schistosomiasis Haematobium with Praziquantel in Children : Its Effect on Educational Performance in Rural Nigeria

Schistosoma haematobium infection is highly endemic in Adim, a rural rice-farming community located within the rain forest of South-eastern Nigeria. With support from Rockefeller Foundation we initiated a treatment programme among the pupils of the only primary school in the community. All children in the school were screened yearly for infection using reagent strips and light microscopy. Infected children were treated with praziquantel (40 mg/kg body weight). To determine the effect of repeated treatment on the educational performance we followed up children (aged 8.0 - 8.9 years) who were in the same school grade through a three-year period. The prevalence of infection in the cohort measured at 12-monthly intervals with a session of treatment in between the screening were 69.1% at the beginning of the programme then 45.2% and 21.6% at the second and third yearly evaluation respectively. The school attendance rate in the cohort decreased from 86.7% at onset of treatment programme to 81.1% by the third yearly evaluation (p=0.24). Standardized, teacher-made educational tests were given to the pupils in between the treatment exercises. The pass rate among the cohort improved following the first treatment session from 81.4% to 90.7%, latter declined to 84.2% following the second treatment session but the net improvement in performance was statistically significant (x^2=7.20; p=0.027). The possibility of enhancement of educational performance as observed in this study should make regular, periodic treatment of children in communities with endemic schistosomiasis a more cost-effective and beneficial public health intervention strategy than was previously assumed

Seasonal variations in human onchocerciasis transmission by black flies (Simulium damnosum s. l.) in a forest area of Cross River State, Nigeria

Observations on seasonal variations in onchocerciasis transmission by Simulium damnosum sensu lato were made in a study carried out in Kwa Falls, Aningeje in Akamkpa LGA (a typical forest area) of Cross River State, Nigeria. The study was carried out for three months of the rainy season (August, September and October, 1999) and three months in the dry season (November, December, 1999 and January, 2000). Black flies were caught on five consecutive days of each month by two flycatchers working alternate hours for a total of eleven hours in a day (07 hr. – 1800 hr.). The black flies caught were dissected fresh in the field to determine the physiological age (parity). Parous flies were stained with Mayer\'s Haemalum and dissected to determine the infection\\infectivity rates (percentages) due to Onchocerca volvulus. During 30 days of black flies catching, a total of 7,403 S. damnosum s. l. vectors were attracted to man. Out of this figure, 230 (3.1%) black flies were parous. More black flies were caught in the rainy season than in the dry season. This was also true of the parous black flies identified. The infection\\infectivity rates (percentages) averaged 9.4\\5.7. The problem of onchocerciasis in the study area is more of a biting nuisance by the vector. Keywords: Simulium damnosum, Black flies, Human onchocerciasis, Dry Season, Rainy Season, Forest AJAZEB Vol. 7 2005: pp. 14-1

Congenital Malaria in Calabar, Nigeria: The Molecular Perspective

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been shown to be more sensitive in detecting low-level parasitemia than conventional blood film microscopy. We estimated the prevalence of congenital malaria using nested PCR amplification of the small subunit 18S RNA gene to detect low-level parasitemia and identify Plasmodium species in 204 mother–neonate pairs. Cord-blood parasitemia was detected in four babies by PCR, giving a prevalence of 2.0%. The newborns of primidgravidae were more susceptible to congenital malaria than those of multigravidae (P < 0.0001). There was a strong correlation between placental malaria and congenital malaria (odds ratio = 10.1, 95% confidence interval = 1.3–76.1, P = 0.0487). We conclude that the prevalence of congenital malaria in Calabar detected by PCR is lower than has been reported in this environment through microscopy