SURVEY FOR EGGS OF GEOHELMINTHS IN SCHOOL PLAYGROUNDS AND PALMS OF PUPILS IN BWARI AREA COUNCIL, ABUJA, NIGERIA.

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Date
2014-06
Authors
CHUKWUDIKE, CHIGOZIE ONYEKA.
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Abstract
Helminth infestation has remained a public health problem in the tropics and subtropics. This study was conducted in Bwari Area Council, Abuja FCT, to determine the level of contamination in soils of pre-primary and primary schools’ playgrounds and palms of pupils by zoonotic helminths. Twenty schools were randomly selected from 10 wards comprising of 10 each of private and public owned pre/primary schools in Bwari Area Council. Fifty grams of soil were collected from each of the randomly selected playgrounds. The samples were transported to the Helminthology Laboratory of Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where floatation technique, direct smear method and sedimentation techniques were used to recover helminth eggs. The eggs were counted using McMaster. Of the 400 soil samples that were analyzed, 6607 parasite eggs were observed out of which 4,836 were helminth eggs while 400 swab samples collected from the pupils palm had a prevalence rate of 11(4.2%). The distribution of helminthe eggs from the playground was found to be; Taeniid eggs 1480(30.6%), Toxocara eggs 863(17.8%), Fasciola eggs 179(3.7%), Strongyle eggs 169(3.5%), Hookworm eggs 1260(26.1%), Schistosome eggs 3(0.06%), Trichuris eggs 482(9.9%), Strongyloides eggs 400(8.3%), beside helminth eggs, Coccidian oocysts 1065(16.1%) and Mite eggs 863(13.1%) were also recorded. A dry and rainy period prevalence rate of helminths showed that 3,592 (74.3%) was recorded during the rainy season while 1,244 (25.7%) was recorded during the dry season respectively. There was a significant association between the occurrence of helminth eggs and the season of the year (χ2 = 203.1, P < 0.05). More helminth eggs were observed from Public schools 3,596 (74.4%) than that of private schools 1,280 (26.5%). There was however, no significant association between the occurrence of helminth eggs and the schools (χ2 = 0.6434, P > 0.005). There was a significant association between the occurrence of helminth eggs and soil type, (χ2 = 6.562, P = 0.0376). There was no significant association between sex and helminth eggs found on pupil’s palm (χ2 = 0.07910, P =0.7785), although prevalence rate was higher in male 46(36.5%) than in female 57(45.9%) children. There was also a significant association (χ2 = 324.8, P= 0.0001) between the occurrence of helminth eggs observed from pupil’s palms and those observed from school’s playgrounds. However, there was no significant association between age and helminth eggs obtained from pupils palms (χ2 = 1.909, P = 0.592, df = 3). Prevalence rate of helminth eggs was also higher among pupils within ages 0-5yrs 46(41.82%). Questionnaire analyses show that the awareness level of the respondent’s to soil-transmitted helminth was 37.6% out of 250 respondents. In this study, there was a significant association between children that played with animals 103 (41.2%) and those that had helminth infection (χ 2 = 30.238, P = 0.000), there was also a significant association between children that played with soil and those that had helminthic disease (χ 2 = 14.704, P = 0.000). This study also revealed that there was a significant association between ownership of pet/domestic animals and those that had helminthic infection (χ 2 = 41.870, P = 0.000).. In this Study, there was no significant association between knowledge of soil transmitted helminth and level of educational attainment, (χ 2 = 13.393, P = 0.02000). However, there was also no significant association between the risk factors of soil-transmitted helminth and the children that had helminthic infection, (χ 2 = 2.251, P = 0.895). This study revealed that soils of pre-primary and primary school’s playground and palms of the pupil in Bwari Area Council were contaminated with helminth eggs. School based chemotherapy and de-worming of people at risk, public enlightenment programmes should be encouraged to reduce helminthic infection to a control level.
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN VETERINARY PUBLIC HEALTH AND PREVENTIVE MEDICINE DEPARTMENT OF VERTERINARY PUBLIC HEALTH AND PREVENTIVE MEDICINE, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA
Keywords
SURVEY,, EGGS,, GEOHELMINTHS,, PLAYGROUNDS,, PALMS,, PUPILS,, ABUJA,, NIGERIA.
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