Ultrasonographic screening of urinary schistosomiasis infected patients in Agulu community, Anambra state, southeast Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The pathology of <it>Schistosoma haematobium </it>infection in 60 infected primary school children in Agulu community, Anambra State, southeast Nigeria, with over 50 ova/10 ml urine was assessed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The ultrasonographic examination was done using a sector scanner with convex probe. World Health Organisation method was used for classification and scoring of lesions. T-test and Coefficient of determination were used in analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The pathologic effects due to <it>S. haematobuim </it>identified among the study group included irregularity of the bladder wall (25%), thickening of the bladder wall (10%) and massing of the bladder wall (3.3%). About 4(6.7%) and 1(1.7%) of the patients had the right pelvis and left pelvis of their kidney moderately dilated respectively. Identified bladder wall lesions had 69 scores while kidney dilation had 30 scores. The number of individuals with lesions correlated with intensity of infection. Male pupils (65.2%) had more lesions than females (34.8%). The difference observed in lesion distribution among males and females was found to be significant (df = 6, p < 0.05). All bladder and kidney lesions responded favorably to treatment with praziquantel (40 mg/kg-body weight).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Health education campaign including showing the community members evidence of damages to the organs (from the ultrasound pictures) will go a long way in the control and prevention of the disease in this community.</p

Persistence of onchocerciasis in villages in Enugu and Ogun states in Nigeria following many rounds of mass distribution of ivermectin

BACKGROUND: Onchocerciasis is endemic in most local government areas (LGAs) in Enugu and Ogun states. Most meso- and hyper-endemic LGAs have received many rounds of ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA). This study aimed to determine the current prevalence of onchocerciasis in villages in Enugu and Ogun states that were formerly highly endemic and to assess progress toward elimination of the infection in areas believed to be at high risk for persistence. METHODS: Cross-sectional community surveys were conducted 8 to 12 months after the last round of MDA in 16 villages (6 in Enugu state and 10 in Ogun state) in individuals aged ≥ 18 years. Study participants were examined for the presence of palpable subcutaneous nodules. Skin snips from the posterior iliac crests were used to assess microfiladermia (Mf) prevalence and density. RESULTS: 643 subjects were palpated for nodules and 627 individuals (225 in Enugu state; 402 in Ogun state) provided skin snips. Nodule prevalence in the study villages ranged from 42 to 66.7% in Enugu state and from 0 to 25.0% in Ogun state. Mf prevalence in the Enugu and Ogun study villages ranged from 32 to 51.1% and 0 to 28.6%, respectively. Geometric mean skin Mf density in surveyed Enugu state villages ranged between 1 and 3.1 Mf/mg; these values were \u3c 1 Mf/mg in all but one community in Ogun state villages. CONCLUSION: Results from this study show that onchocerciasis persists in adults in many villages in Enugu and Ogun states despite many prior rounds of ivermectin MDA. Prevalence was higher in villages surveyed in Enugu than in Ogun. Low Mf densities suggest the MDA program is working well to reduce disease, but more time will be required to reach the elimination goal

Current Appraisal of Socio-Economic Factors Associated with Intestinal Helminth Infections in South-Eastern Nigeria

A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the current status of intestinal helminth infections and the associations between selected socio-economic variables and helminthosis among school children less than twenty years old in five rural communities in Southeastern, Nigeria. A total of 3000 school children randomly selected from the study communities were enrolled for the study. Data collection involved the use of Kato Katz for microscopic examination of stool samples, semi-structured questionnaires and focal group discussion (FGDs). T-test was used to to determine the association of socoi-economic variables and intestinal helminthosis.The overall prevalence of intestinal helminth infections was 60.4%. The intestinal helminthes isolated included hookworm (29.1%), Ascaris lumbricoides (22.1%), Trichuris trichiura (4.6%), Strongyloides stercoralis (2.4%), Taenia spp (1.1%) and Diphyllobothrium latum (1.1%). Hookworm (29.1%) was the most predominant helminth. Males were more infected (61.1%) than females (59.6%).&nbsp; Individuals aged 3-5 years old had the highest prevalence (75.4%) of intestinal helminth infections. Factors that were significantly associated with the risk of acquisition of the infections included age of the school children, type of toilet facility, source of water, level of education, occupation, housecrowding, hygiene habits. Conscientious personal cleanliness, proper sanitation and controlled good water supplies would be useful for effective control

Reproductive Health Knowledge And Practices Among Junior Secondary School Grade One Students In Enugu State: Threat To Achieving Millennium Development Goals In Nigeria

Objective: This was designed to provide background information for the implementation of family life and HIV/AIDS education in post primary schools in the Enugu State. Methods: A cross sectional survey of the reproductive health knowledge and practices of 412 junior secondary school pupils from 12 schools in Enugu State, Nigeria was undertaken using a uniform set of structured self-administered questionnaire. Results: The results revealed that while the pupils demonstrated fair knowledge of human biology, they lacked knowledge of selfprotective mechanisms as it related to sexual health. About (50%) of the participants reported that they have had sex, at the age of less than 11 years when they must have been in the primary school and most (89.3%) at age 11-14 years. Half (50.9%) of the respondents hold the belief that a girl would not get pregnant in her first sexual encounter. Statistically more of those who have ever had sex were betrayed this ignorance (p=0.004). The boys were less certain about what constitutes the wrong ideas about reproductive health systems than the girls (p=0.042). In the same vein, there was a difference (p<0.0001) in the proportion of the rural residents, vis-à-vis their urban counterparts that could correctly identify the wrong ideas about human reproduction. Conclusion: This situation urgently calls for concerted efforts at addressing the poor reproductive health knowledge of these sexually active young people, for the millennium development goals (MDGs) target to be realized in Nigeria

Vie familiale et l’éducation sur le VIH/SIDA (VFEV) dans les écoles de l’Etat d’Enugu : Etude de ligne de base sur les questions de la santé de reproduction chez les adolescents qui fréquentent l’école dans l’Etat d’Enugu

We studied the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge and practices among junior secondary school grades 1 and 3 students Enugu State, preparatory to incorporating family life and HIV/AIDS education (FLHE) into the school curricula in the state. Results show that over 90% of the respondents were regularly involved in sexual activities. More than seventeen per cent (17.5%) indicated that they would definitely have sex in the next two years while 19.2% may have sex in the next two years. The students lacked proper knowledge of protection and knowledge scores on SRH issues was low especially among the urban dwellers (p<0.001). Some respondents (64.4%) did not know if condoms prevent pregnancy. Some indicated that charms and herbs are effective ways of preventing pregnancy. Against this background, the opinion leaders and community members welcome the FLHE for improving youth knowledge on SRH issues and pledge their support for the programme (Afr J Reprod Health 2009; 13[2]:17-32).Nous avons étudié la connaissance et les pratiques de la santé sexuelle et de reproduction (SSR) chez les étudiants de collège (première et troisième années) dans l’Etat d’Enugu, en vue de l’incorporation de la vie familiale et de l’éducation sur le VIH/SIDA (VFEV) dans le programme éducatif dans l’Etat. Les résultats ont montré que plus de 90% des enquêtés ont participé de façon régulière aux activités sexuelles. Plus de dix-sept pourcent (17%) ont indiqué qu’ils ont la ferme intention d’avoir des rapports sexuels dans les deux prochaines années, alors que 19,2% auraient peutêtre des rapports sexuels dans les deux prochaines années. Les étudiants n’avaient pas une bonne connaissance de comment se protéger et les cotations concernant les questions portant sur la SSR étaient bas surtout chez les citadins (p<0,00001). 64,4% des enquêtés ne savaient pas si les préservatifs préviennent la grossesse. Dans ce contexte, les dirigeants d’opinions et les membres de la communauté apprécient la VFEV pour l’amélioration de la connaissance chez la jeunesse sur les questions concernant la SSR et font la promesse de soutenir le programme (Afr J Reprod Health 2009; 13[2]:17-32)