Authors : M.O. Oniya and A.B. Odaibo
Abstract: A total of three hundred and fifty pupils from two primary schools and one secondary school from Ipogun village, Ondo state, Nigeria were screened for urinary schistosomiasis. Urine samples were collected at intervals of four months between October 2002 and October 2003 to determine the pattern of reinfection of the disease. At baseline, 205 (59%) of the pupils were positive for Schistosoma haematobium with haematuria in 115(55%). All infected pupils were treated with praziquantel (40 mg kg-1 body weight) and rescreened again every 4 months during the year. At each screening exercise, infected pupils were treated with the standard dose of praziquantel (40 mg kg-1 body weight). Results showed that two successive doses of praziquantel were needed to achieve a 73% cure rate. Despite this, the rate of reinfection was still high thereby making the village endemic. Prevalence was consistently highest in pupils that fell into the 10-14 age group category throughout the period of survey though not significantly (p>0.05), while there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in reinfection rates among the male pupils than in the females. Laudable intervention programmes from the foregoing should be multi-pronged and on a long-term basis.
M.O. Oniya and A.B. Odaibo , 2006. Reinfection Pattern and Predictors of Urinary Schistosomiasis among School Pupils from a Southwestern Village in Nigeria. International Journal of Tropical Medicine, 1: 173-177.