Leave No Preschool-Aged Children Behind: Urogenital Schistosomiasis in Four Communities of a Metropolitan City in Central Nigeria

Abstract

There have been several demands for preschool-aged children to get prophylactic chemotherapy, such as praziquantel, first due to a presumed schistosomiasis among this age group. In order to determine the prevalence and risk variables related to urogenital schistosomiasis infection among preschool-aged children, this study conducted surveys in four areas inside a major city in Central Nigeria. A total of 240 preschool-aged children were randomly selected from the four areas surveyed. Demographic data and their knowledge on the transmission of urogenital schistosomiasis were obtained by administering questionnaire to mothers and caregivers, urine samples of the recruited subjects were collected using a sterile sampling bottles and were tested for hematuria using Urino-Combi-11 reagent test strip (ACON laboratories). Subsequently, samples were screened in the laboratory for Schistosoma haematobium infection. Of the 235 preschool-aged children that returned their sample bottles, only 8.51% (20/235) were infected with urogenital schistosomiasis. Four years old subjects were the most infected 13.95% (6/43) followed by age two 10.56% (2/19) then age five with 8.93% (10/112), age three 3.70% (2/54) while no age one child was infected 0% (0/7), although variations in prevalence across the ages showed no significant difference (P˃0.05). The overall geometric mean intensity (GMI) was 1.03526 eggs/10ml of urine. The prevalence of the infection among preschool-aged children in relation to locations as well as sex showed no significant difference (P˃0.05). About 52% (122) of the preschool-aged children bath in water bodies, but only 51.1% (120) are aware that some freshwater snails are harmful. In conclusion, preschool-aged children in the metropolitan city of Lafia should not bath, wash or swim in water bodies around. More awareness should be created on the risk factors associated with the disease. Also, the government should provide sufficient potable water in the city, and prioritization of treatment of preschool-aged children with preventive chemotherapy to curb urogenital schistosomiasis prevalence among the age group is very necessary and cannot be overemphasized.