A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE AND INTENSITY OF URINARY SCHISTOSOMIASIS AMONGST PRIMARY AND ALMAJIRI SCHOOL PUPILS IN KURA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KANO STATE

Abstract

Urinary schistosomiasis remains one of the most prevalent neglected tropical disease in the world
today, particularly in developing countries including Nigeria. Its public health implications lies in
its ability to result in chronic infection with resultant development of debilitating complications
mostly involving the genitourinary system.
The presence of river Kano in Kura Local Government Area of Kano State, coupled with the
increased water contact pattern of the people particularly children, predispose them to this disease.
Almajiri school pupils (informal school pupils) who are socioeconomically deprived may be more
at risk. There is therefore the need to establish and compare the prevalence and intensity of this
disease between primary and Almajiri school pupils in this LGA. Determination of risk factors
associated with the disease in this community may be used to modify control programmes. Paucity
of similar information justified this study.
This work was a cross sectional comparative study conducted from July to November 2013. The
study involved 200 primary and 200 Almajiri school pupils in Kura LGA aged 5 to 15 years. Urine
samples were taken and the diagnosis was made by demonstrating the presence of the eggs of
S.haematobium from a urine microscopy. Intensity was determined as the number of eggs/10mls
of urine. The urine samples were also examined for visible blood, microhaematuria and
proteinuria.
The overall prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis amongst school pupils (both primary and
Almajiri) in Kura LGA was found to be 49.2%. Specifically, the prevalence was 43% among
primary school pupils and 55.5% among Almajiri school pupils. This difference was statistically
significant. (p ˂ 0.05).The infection was predominantly of light intensity (67%) with no significant
difference between the two school types. The overall mean egg intensity in both the primary and
Almajiri pupils was found to be 51.6 ±35 EPC with a mean egg intensity of 50.33±33.8 EPC in
primary school pupils and 52.84± 36.7 EPC in Almajiri school pupils. Haematuria and proteinuria
were also found to be significantly associated with the disease. At bivariate level, age (10 years
and above), gender (boys) school type (Almajiri) and previous history of passage of bloody urine
were found to be significantly associated with urinary schistosomiasis. However on adjusting for
confounders using multivariate logistic regression analysis, only previous history of passage of
bloody urine remained a predictor of urinary schistosomiasis. Pupils with this positive history had
a nearly fourfold increased risk of having urinary schistosomiasis OR 3.99 (95% CI 2.35-6.77).
In conclusion, the high prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis observed in this LGA reflects the
need for the urgent institution of control programmes including health education and mass
chemotherapy. This should focus on school pupils particularly Almajiri school pupils.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE AND INTENSITY OF URINARY SCHISTOSOMIASIS AMONGST PRIMARY AND ALMAJIRI SCHOOL PUPILS IN KURA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KANO STATE