Schistosoma haematobium Infection among the Students of Government Day Junior Secondary School Garki, Jigawa-Nigeria

Schistosomiasis is among the most prevalent but neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). It is a human disease caused by the parasitic infection of the blood trematode worm belonging to the family Schistosomatidae A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence and intensity of Schistosoma haematobium infection among the students of the Government Day Junior Secondary School (GDJSS) Garki in Jigawa State for a period of 17 days. A total of 120 students from class 1-3, who randomly participated in the study, were diagnosed for the S. haematobium infection. The intensity of the infection was assessed by counting and recording the number of eggs present in the 10ml urine samples of the positive individuals. The results obtained showed a 25% prevalence of the S. haematobium infection among the students. The students in contact with the water bodies in the community were infected more as compared to the students who did not have any contact with the water bodies (odd ratio = 0.002). The positive predictive value recorded at 93.3% quantified the diagnostic test employed (syringe filtration method) and the negative predictive value of 97.8% showed that the prevalence of S. haematobium infection was marginal among the student population. The gender of the students did not relate significantly (p < 0.05) with the results of the diagnosis, as more male students were infected than female students (odd ratio = 1.455). The students’ age group related significantly (p < 0.05) with the results and the students of the age group 14-15 years were more infected than those of the age group 12-13 years (odd ratio = 0.337). There were many more eggs in the urine samples of the positive students than the Poisson distribution would predict. Therefore, the model assumes that the intensity of S. haematobium infection is very high and thus the students should be treated and prevented from further exposure.