ABSTRACT:The study investigated the prevalence of malaria and socioeconomic status of subjects in part of Port Harcourt metropolis. Following ethical clearance which was obtained from the University of Port Harcourt and the parents of the subjects who gave their written consents, blood samples were collected and analysed following standard parasitological method from 200 subjects within the age bracket of 0-17years. The demographic characteristics of 200 subjects showed that more males, 105 (52.5%), were examined compared with females, 94 (47.5%). The socioeconomic status of subjects were grouped into higher class with 144 (72.0%), middle class with 22 (11.0%) and lower class with 34 (17.0%). Overall prevalence of 71 (35.5%) was recorded. Sex related prevalence showed that more males were infected with 42 (40.0%) and parasite density of 91120 µl than females with 29 (30.5%) and parasite density of 62480 µl. The differences in prevalence between males and females was not significant (P>0.05).The prevalence of malaria infections based on socioeconomic status showed that greater percentage of infection of 55 (38.2%) was recorded among the higher class with parasite density of 112880 µl followed by infection of 12 (35.3%) and parasite density of 29120 µl in the lower class with the least percentage of 4 (18.2%) and parasite density of 11600 µl recorded in the middle class. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in infection rate on the basis of socioeconomic status. In Conclusion, malaria infection does not respect individual's socioeconomic status. There is need to sustain the current intervention measures and awareness campaign among Port Harcourt residents for prevalence rate to be reduced to the desired zero level. ©JASEM https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v21i2.10

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A total of 3,948 urine samples were examined for schristosome infection at Anyu in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, Two thousand and forty eight (51.9%) of the people examined were infected with Schistosomiasis. Highest infection (80.4%) was recorded in the 7-10 years age group and the lowest infection occurred in the 47-50 years of age. All the age groups between 3-47 years that were examined were infected with urinary schistosomiasis. Males were more infected (55.2%) than the females (47.2%). Intensity of infection was also highest in the 4-7 years age category. About 1022 (49.9%) of the positive individuals were excreting less than 100 ova of S. heamatobium per 10cm 3 of urine, while 227 (11.1%) were excreting more than 500 ova per 10cm 3 of urine. Bulinus globosus was the snail vector of S heamatobium in the area. Percentage infection of the snail vector was 5.0%. Snail infection was higher during the dry season, while snail population responded to the quantity of rainfall. Based on these data, it was proposed that interception of S. heamatobuim transmission in the study area would involve mass chemotherapy and focal application of molluscicides in the community ponds during the dry season. @ JASEM

Studies on hookworm infection was conducted in Amassoma community, in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Of the 4990 faecal samples examined by standard parasitological technique, 1740 (34.9%) samples were found to contain eggs of hookworm. Nine hundred and seventy five infected samples (33.6%) were males and 865 (36.7%) infected samples were females. Incidence or new cases of hookworm infection occurred every month. Highest incidence (12.2%) occurred in September and the lowest (1.8%) was in February. The high soil moisture and temperature of the study area were probably responsible for the rapid larval development and infectivity all round the year. Percentage new infection was highest (1.5%) in the 4-9 years old. Peak prevalence of hookworm infection (38.5%) and peak intensity (3000 e pg) occurred in 4-9 years age group. Both prevalence and intensity declined gradually with increase in age. The study demonstrated that the best time for intervention of hookworm transmission is February when incidence is lowest. Also the age group for targeted mass chemotherapy is the 4-9 years old, which had the highest prevalence, incidence and intensity of hookworm infection. This study provides baseline data on the epidemiology of hookworm infection in the Niger Delta. @ JASEM

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