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Urinary schistosomiasis is considered a major public health parasitic disease in African communities. Prior to this study, Nsugbe community was not considered endemic for the disease and as such was not involved in Praziquantel-Preventive Chemotherapy (PC). Longitudinal study of 281 consented pupils aged 5-16 years was carried out with aim of determining the status of urinary schistosomiasis. Urinalysis laboratory test strip, urine filtration technique and syndromic diagnosis were used for the confirmation of the presence of haematuria in urine samples, identification of Schistosoma haematobium ova and the confirmation of female genital schistosomiasis (FGS), respectively. Risk factors for urinary schistosomiasis infection were determined using pre-tested structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Minitab 17 software and intensity of infection categorized following World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Of the 281 pupils, 117 (42%) were males and 164 (58%) were females with mean age of 9 years. At baseline, an overall prevalence of 0.4% (1/281) which was of light intensity was established. At follow-up, an overall prevalence of 2.1% (6/281) which was of both light (16.7%) and heavy infection (83.3%) was established. The result of the clinical examination showed eggs of S. haematobium in and around the vaginal area indicating FGS of a female pupil aged 12 years. This was treated. Identified risk factors for S. haematobium infection in the community include water-contact activities, ignorance, source of water supply among others. The study revealed the need for an all inclusive mass administration of Praziquantel-PC in the study community for effective control and possible elimination.

Background: Malaria causes significant morbidity and mortality among pregnant women in Nigeria. However, the contribution of malaria infection to neonatal development is incompletely understood. Here we determined the prevalence of placental malarial infection in six communities in Anambra State, Nigeria, between 2005 and 2006, and compare these data to neonatal birth weight. Methodology: Blood samples were obtained from the placenta of 500 parturient mothers and examined for the presence of malaria parasites. Newborn birth weight was then compared with the malaria status of their mothers.

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Introduction: Control of intestinal helminthiasis among pupils improves their nutritional status. This study identified the risk factors and socio-demographic determinants of intestinal helminthiasis among children in primary schools that implemented Home Grown School Feeding Program (HGSFP) in Anambra State, Nigeria.Methods: Eight hundred and forty-eight consented pupils from Primary (Elementary) classes 1-4 were examined from Community Primary School, Ekwulobia, 270 pupils; Central Primary School, Ekwulobia, 317 pupils; and Nwannebo Primary School, Ekwulobia, 261 pupils. Structured questionnaires were administered to pupils to assess their risks factors for helminthiasis. Fecal samples collected from all pupils were examined using Kato-Katz technique. Data obtained were entered and analyzed using SPSS.Results: Of the 848 pupils, 452 (53.3%) were males and 396 (46.7%) were females. Assessment of risk factors associated with transmission revealed that toilet type, hand washing habit, and knowledge of the cause of helminthiasis were significantly (p<0.05) related to transmission; however parent’s occupationand biting of fingernails habits were not correlated with transmission (p>0.05). There was a very low prevalence of helminthes at 0.7% in six stool samples (1 male and 5 females), and prevalence of helminthes was not significantly associated (p>0.05) with pupil’s sex and age. Ascaris lumbricoides were the onlyhelminthes observed in the study population.Conclusion and Implications for Translation: The low prevalence of intestinal helminthiasis among the study population may be attributable to efforts of HGSFP that was implemented in the study area. There is need for constant monitoring and surveillance of all public schools and sustenance of theimplemented water, sanitation and hygiene practices and HGSFP so that total elimination of helminths could be achievable in the state.Key words: Helminthiasis • Home Grown School Feeding • Pupils • Ekwulobia • Anambra State • Nigeria.Copyright © 2018 Aribodor et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.