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Schistosomiasis is prevalent in Nigeria, and the foremost pathogen is Schistosoma haematobium, which affects about 29 million people. Single dose of the drug praziquantel is often recommended for treatment but the efficacy has not been documented in certain regions. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the impact of single dose praziquantel treatment on S. haematobium infection among school children in an endemic community of South-Western Nigeria. Urine samples were collected from 434 school children and 10 ml was filtered through Nucleopore filter paper before examination for egg outputs by microscopy. The prevalence was 24.9% at pre-treatment. There was no statistically significant difference for the prevalence of infection between males (14.7%) and females (10.2%), although the mean egg count for the females (9.87) was significantly more (P<0.05) than the males (6.06). At 6 and 12 months post-treatment there was 74.4% and 86.4% reduction in the mean egg count, respectively. Interestingly, an increased prevalence of infection from 2.1% at 6 months to 7.7% at 12 months post-treatment was observed, nonetheless the mean egg count was reduced to 0.27 at 12th month from 1.98 at 6 months post-treatment. Resurgence in the prevalence rate between 6 and 12 months post-treatment with praziquantel is herein reported and the need for a follow-up treatment in endemic areas for adequate impact on schistosomiasis control is discussed.

In a cross-sectional survey among consented pregnant women, rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for malaria was carried out and stool examination was done to detect the presence of Schistosoma mansoni and soil transmitted helminthes using Kato-Katz technique. Intensity of infection was expressed as the number of eggs per gram (epg) of faeces. Prevalence of soil transmitted helminthes was 8.3% and 0.83% for Schistosoma mansoni while none was positive for malaria infection. Lack of co-infection with malaria could be connected with the intermittent preventive treatment with sulphadoxine pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP). Public health impact of soil transmitted helminthes and schistosomiasis infections in pregnancy may necessitate initiation of preventive treatment of helminth infections during pregnancy.

Seasonal fluctuations of the Simulium damnosum Theobald complex and the prevalence of Onchocerca volvulus Bickel in blackflies caught in river systems bordering the Nigeria -Benin border were assessed for their direct impact on the epidemiology of onchocerciasis in South-western Nigeria. Entomological evaluation and heteroduplex assay (HDA) techniques were performed on flies caught in the eight capture points in the Ogun and Yewa river systems between A total of 5789 blackflies were caught on human bait, of which 727 (12.6%) flies were captured in 2007, 1723 (29.8%) in 2008 and 3339 (57.6%) in 2009. The majority of flies caught during the study were forest flies representing 90.3% of the total catch while savanna flies constituted 9.7%. Proportions of parous to nulliparous flies were low in all the catching points (31.1 and 68.9%, respectively). Of the 5789 flies dissected, 11 (0.2%) flies were infected with Onchocerca parasites with nine of the infected flies having L3 head parasites. The HDA results revealed that the Beffa form of S. soubrense was the dominant cytospecies present (87.1%) in all the capture sites when compared with 12.9% of S. damnosum s.s. The low level of infectivity of flies may therefore indicate a low transmission level of onchocerciasis in the communities along the Ogun and Yewa river systems. However, there is a need for constant surveillance on species composition and fly infectivity in the river systems along the borders of Nigeria -Benin Republic.

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Background: Urogenital schistosomiasis (UgS) is a parasitic disease caused by Schistosoma haematobium and can lead to chronic ill-health. Nigeria is endemic for schistosomiasis, but epidemiology of UgS has not been studied in most states. This study was conceived with the aim to contribute towards an accurate national picture of UgS in Nigeria. The prevalence of UgS and the associated risk factors were for the first time investigated among primary school pupils in Jidawa and Zobiya communities of the Dutse Local Government Area (LGAs) of Jigawa State, Nigeria.Method: Focus group discussions with teachers and parents were conducted. After obtaining written consent from parents, questionnaires were administered to pupils to obtain socio-demographic data and information on water contact activities. Urine samples (279) were collected and processed by the urine filtration technique to evaluate haematuria and the presence of S. haematobium eggs.Results: Prevalences of 65.7% (90/137) and 69.0% (98/142) were recorded in the Jidawa and Zobiya communities, respectively. In both communities, there was a significant association between gender and UgS: 63.3% of the infected pupils were males as compared to 36.7% females (χ 2 = 5.42, p = 0.020). Grade 5 students had a significantly higher prevalence (χ 2 = 17.919, p = 0.001) (80.0%) compared to those in grades 2, 3, 4, and 6 (63.8%, 66.7%, 61.5%, and 64.6%, respectively). Water contact activities showed that pupils involved in fishing, irrigation, and swimming were at greater risk of becoming infected in Jidawa and Zobiya, with odds ratios (risk factors) of 5.4 (0.994-28.862) and 4.1 (1.709-9.862), respectively (p = 0.05).

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