Occurrence and Isolation of Urinary Tract Bacteria Associated with Urinary Schistosomiasis Among the School Aged Children in Sorbai and Murbai Area of Kona Ward, Ardo Kola Lga, Taraba State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the occurrence and isolation of urinary Schistosomiasis and co-infection with bacteria among the school aged children in two Kona settlements. Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by blood flukes (trematode worms) of the genus Schistosoma and is common among the rural community dwellers that have occupation or recreation activities that link them with infected water bodies. The disease wreak a lot of havoc in the victims which range from anaemia, increase risk of liver fibrosis and bladder cancer, enlarged liver, difficult and painful urination, infertility etc. Nigeria has been reported to be the most endemic country in the world for schistosomiasis with about 29 million infected cases. However, people with urinary schistosomiasis are vulnerable to secondary infections caused by bacteria as a result of the break down in the mucosa barrier occasioned by the wear and tear of the spiny eggs of the schistosomes. The study employed urine filtration technique using polycarbonate membrane filters to detect Schistosoma haematobium eggs in urine. Standard culture techniques to isolate urinary tract pathogens with their susceptibility patterns were carried out. Questionnaires were administered to collect information on socio-demographic data on the children. Of the 1153 urine samples examined, 675 (58.4%) were infected with Schistosoma haematobium, out of whom 405 (60.0%) were positive for bacteriuria. Bacteriuria differed significantly between the two settlements (χ2 =25.55, p=0.000) and sexes (χ 2 =29.55, p=0.000) with females recording high occurrence (84.6%) than males (39.2%). Similarly, significant association in prevalence was observed in the different age groups (χ 2 =92.97, p=0.000) with the 1-5years old being the highest, while the 11-15years the lowest. Spearman correlation coefficient showed significant association between urinary Schistosomiasis and bacteriuria (r=0.518, p˂0.01). The different bacterial pathogen isolated in urine samples include: Escherichia coli (33.9%), Klebsiella spp (15.5%), Proteus sp (14.5%) Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.8%) Staphylococcus aureus (2.0%). This study revealed a high occurrence of schistosomiasis and significant bacteriuria in the study areas which suggests that bacterial presence may be a potent complication in the management of urinary schistosomiasis. Keywords: Schistosomiasis, isolation, bacteria, school aged children, antibiotic urinary tract, sorbai, murbai, kona, ardo kola, Taraba state, Nigeria