Urogenital schistosomiasis in Nigeria post receipt of the largest single praziquantel donation in Africa
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Date
2021-04-02
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Elsevier
Abstract
Schistosomiasis control efforts in Nigeria received a boost in 2016 when Merck Group made the largest single
donation of praziquantel to an African country. We examined urine samples from 2,023 school age children from
15 locations in 10 states and an Internally Displaced Person’s (IDP) camp in Nigeria. We recorded an overall
Schistosoma haematobium prevalence of 10.4% in the 10 states that ranged between 6 – 37%, while prevalence in
the IDP camp was 2.9%. The highest infection prevalence (37%) recorded was from the population in Wasai Dam
area in Minjibir (Kano State), while five locations had no positive urine samples. We observed heavy intensity of
infection (≥ 50 eggs/10 ml urine) in 87.9% of infected samples and co-occurrence of the eggs of S. haematobium
and S. mansoni in urine for two participants. The overall prevalence we recorded is slightly above the national
average (9.5%) reported in 2015. Our findings indicate that despite the ongoing administration of praziquantel in
Nigeria, urogenital schistosomiasis is still prevalent with heavy intensity of infection. Large-scale epidemiolog ical monitoring is required to monitor the efficacy of schistosomiasis control in Nigeria
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schistosomiasis, Nigeria