Malaria and soil-transmitted helminthes coinfection in a rural community of Kwara State, North Central Nigeria

Ebube Charles Amaechi,Onyinye Mkpola Ukpai,Blessing Uzoamaka Ejike,Abiodun Lukman Musa,Chidiogo Comfort Nwadike,Carmelita Chima Ohaeri

doi:10.21472/bjbs.030609

Abstract

Malaria and soil-transmitted helminthes (STH) are common in most developing countries especially Nigeria. The aim of this study was to assess the rate of occurrence of Plasmodium falciparum and STHs coinfection and to determine the associated risk factors. A community based study was conducted on 300 individuals living in Oke-Oyi a rural community in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria, between January and June 2014. Blood samples were collected by finger prick to determine malaria parasitaemia using thick and thin film method while stool samples were processed using formalin-ether sedimentation technique and examined microscopically for intestinal parasites. Well structured questionnaire was administered to ascertain socio-economic characteristics of the subjects. The prevalence of malaria was 56.7% while the prevalence of STHs/malaria coinfection was 40.1%. The age group 1-10 was found to be the most infected (74.3%) while males (60.7%) were more infected than females (51.8%). Ascaris lumbricoides Linnaeus, 1758 was the most prevalent (60.5%) STHs infection followed by Trichuris trichiura (Linnaeus, 1771) (57.6%). Multiple infections were more pronounced in the age group 1-10 (40.1%). Subjects that were farmers were more prone to coinfection. Intestinal parasitic infection and malaria coinfection is a serious health challenge in Oke-Oyi Area of Kwara State, North Central Nigeria. Therefore, concerted efforts such as mass deworming, improved sanitation, provision of toilet facilities and health education is encouraged.

Highlights

Parasitic diseases have been found to be among the most widespread of all chronic human infections all over the world
The result shows that A. lumbricoides (60.5%) and T. trichiura (57.6%) shared a somewhat similar prevalence pattern
The prevalence shows that female are more infected with the highest level of prevalence observed in T. trichiura (62.0%) followed by A. lumbricoides (61.4%)

Summary

Introduction

Parasitic diseases have been found to be among the most widespread of all chronic human infections all over the world. Soitransmitted helminthes (STHs), on the other hand, are a group of common parasites that infect more than a billion people worldwide of whom 400 million suffer associated severe disease (Bethony et al, 2006). It has been observed that malaria, and the major soil-transmitted helminthes share geographical distribution, and the human hosts, and individuals who harbor multiple parasite species have increased risk of severe morbidity and mortality. A study conducted in Nigeria demonstrated that pregnant women coinfected with P. falciparum and helminthes produced children with lower birth weight compared to those inflected with P. falciparum alone (Egwunyenga et al, 2001). An important aspect of malaria and helminthes coinfections is their joint contribution to anaemia, which affects 50% of all children and pregnant women in developing countries (Ojurongbe et al, 2011)

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Conclusion