FUW TRENDS IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(A Peer Review Journal)
e–ISSN: 2408–5162; p–ISSN: 2048–5170
keywords: Ascaris lumbricoides, school children, soil-transmitted helminths, South-west Nigeria
Ascariasis is an important disease often associated with poor hygiene especially among indigent individuals and households in developing countries. Faecal samples from 306 pupils (125 males and 181 females) from Ilese-Ijebu and Ijebu-Imushin of Ijebu North East, southwest Nigeria, were examined using direct smear and formol–ether concentration techniques, between May and July 2013. A total of 205 (67.0%) pupils were infected with Ascaris lumbricoides. The total female prevalence (75.1%) was statistically similar to that of male (55.2%). Among the infected school children, 5-6 years age group (20.9%) had the highest prevalence, but this was not statistically significant (χ2 = 6.70, P > 0.05). The least geometric mean intensity recorded (130 eggs/g of faeces) was among females in Ilese-Ijebu. This study has shown that, A. lumbricoides infection has high prevalence and intensity: thus a serious problem of public health impact in Ilese-Ijebu and Ijebu-Mushin, Ijebu North East area, Ogun State. Therefore, cost-effective measures are urgently needed to effectively control the infection in the study areas.
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