Malaria and soil transmitted helminths among patients attending some hospitals in Kano Metropolis, Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) and Plasmodium falciparum are known to the causative agents of neglected tropical diseases that continue to pose significant public health challenges in Nigeria and other endemic countries. This study was aimed at determining malaria and STHs coinfection in Kano metropolis, Kano state, Nigeria. The prevalence of malaria and STHs was determined using microscopy and formol ether concentration methods, respectively. Data on socio-demographic and risk factors were collected from three hundred (300) patients using structured questionnaires. The findings revealed a high prevalence of malaria (92.7%) and low STHs (19.0%). Malaria was more prevalent in males (52.3%) than females (40.3%), with the highest prevalence observed among individuals aged 6 – 12 years (25.7%). The difference in malaria prevalence based on age was not statistically significant (p>0.05), contrary to gender which showed a significant difference in their association (p<0.05). STHs infections were more common in participants aged between 6 - 12 years (11.3%), and the difference in prevalence among age groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). Among the study sites, patients exhibited a higher prevalence of Ascaris infection (14.3%) compared to Hookworm infection (4.6%). Co-infection was recorded in 19.0% of the patients, while 73.7% had malaria infection alone. During this study, malaria and STHs were prevalent in Kano metropolis and there was a co-infection of Malaria and STHs among patients attending the selected hospitals in Kano.