High Prevalence of Urinary Schistosomiasis in a Nigerian Community

The prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in Ogbadibo Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria was investigated. Out of 657 urine samples examined, 300 (46.6%) showed the presence of Schistosoma haematobium. Of the 300 positive samples, 152 (23.13%) were from males and 148 (22.52%) were from females. Owukpa and Eha zones showed higher prevalence 10.8% and 10.35% respectively than the other three zones. Statistical analysis showed that the prevalence of the disease in the study is neither sex, nor age dependent, hence there was no observed significant difference (p 0.05), though the age group 11-20 years (9.56%) has a slightly higher prevalence than other age groups. There was a close relationship between haematuria and positive urine samples. The presence of many snail species especially the Bulinus species, and increased contact time with the Schistosoma haematobium infested freshwater habitat were thought to be responsible for the prevalence of the disease in the area.