In Africa, most schistosomiasis control programmes defined the age 5-19 years as the target population for nationwide control through the school systems, excluding the under fives. A study was therefore undertaken to determine the prevalence and intensity of genitourinary schistosomiasis in children aged 0-5 years (pre-primary) in Adim, a rural and endemic community within the Cross River Basin, Nigeria. Of the 126 children examined, 25 (19.8%) were infected with Schistosoma haematobium, with no significant difference (P > 0.05) in infection rates between boys (21.1%) and girls (18.2%). Both prevalence and intensity of infection increased significantly (P 0.05) between intensity in boys (6.2 eggs/10 ml urine) and girls (5.6 eggs/10 ml urine). A total of 32.5 and 27.8% of the children had haematuria and proteinuria, respectively; it was not gender specific (P > 0.05). Six species of snail were encountered, with Bulinus globosus being the most abundant and widespread. The results of this study have shown that pre-primary schoolchildren are a source of transmission of schistosomiasis in endemic communities and should be integrated into any control intervention.

Background and objectives There is a dearth of information on the geographical distribution of bancroftian filariasis in Africa on which to establish elimination programmes. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and density of microfilaraemia and the prevalence of clinical manifestations of bancroftian filariasis in six rural communities of Lower Cross River Basin, Nigeria. Methods A total of 829 finger prick blood smear samples were collected from volunteers between 22.00 and 02.00 h and were examined for presence of helminth parasite Wuchereria bancrofti using standard parasitological method of diagnosis. All the volunteers were also screened for clinical manifestations of lymphatic filariasis. Results Forty-six (5.6%) of the 829 samples collected were found to be microscopically positive for W. bancrofti. The prevalence of microfilaraemia was significantly (P<0.05) higher in females (8.4%) than males (3.6%). There is a significant variation (P<0.05) in the age-specific prevalence, with the age group 41-60 years being the most affected (10.2%). The overall geometric mean microfilarial density of the infected persons was 9 mf/50 μl. It was higher in males (11 mf/50 μl) than females (7 mf/50 μl) (P>0.05). The prevalence of infection and geometric mean density showed large variations; there was a trend towards increasing prevalence and density with increase in age in both sexes. The overall disease prevalence was 9.2%; the most important clinical manifestation was hydrocele (10.5%) and lymphoedema (2.9%). These chronic disease manifestations increased with age (P<0.05). Conclusion These baseline data would be useful in planning for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis in Africa as per the WHO goal to eliminate lymphatic filariasis by the year 2020.

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Background: Schistosomiasis is a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) that constitutes a public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including Nigeria. There is need for updated information on the extent of the disease burden at community level to facilitate effective prioritization and monitoring of the disease. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among school-aged children in Obudu Local Government Area (LGA), one of the 18 LGAs in Cross River State, Southern Nigeria. Seven schools from seven communities were randomly selected for this study. A total of 1,113 urine samples obtained from school-aged children were screened for Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium) eggs using standard parasitological method of diagnosis. Proteinuria and hematuria were evaluated using reagent test strips. Results: In this study, 153 (13.7%) children were infected with S. haematobium. More males (86 or 14.7%) were infected than females (67 or 12.7%); the differences were not statistically significant. The overall geometric mean intensity of infection was 13.3 eggs/10ml of urine. Females (13.69 eggs/10ml of urine) had the highest intensity of infection than males (12.91eggs/10ml of urine). Prevalence of hematuria was 152 (13.7%) (95% C.I. = 10.649 – 18.751%) while the prevalence of proteinuria was 172 (15.5%) (95% C.I. = 5.162 – 38.712%). Prevalence of infection significantly (p<0.001) varied among the schools from 7.8% to 28.9%. Children aged 5-9 years old had the highest prevalence of infection 46 (17.1%). The prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis was 28.9%, 20.5% and 13.2%, respectively, among Betukwel, Ibong, and Ohong communities. Conclusion and Global Health Implications: Urinary schistosomiasis is still endemic in Obudu, Southern Nigeria but with decreased prevalence. Public health mitigation efforts such as mass chemotherapy, provision of safe water supply and sanitation facilities are recommended. Furthermore, health education should be encouraged within schools and communities. Key words: • Schistosoma haematobium • Communities • Schools • Neglected tropical diseases • School-aged children • Parasitology • Chemotherapy • Proteinuria • Hematuria • Obudu • Cross River State • Nigeria.   Copyright © 2021 Opara, et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.