Profile of intestinal parasites among nomadic Fulani in Kwara State, Nigeria
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njpar.v40i1.9
Keywords:
Kwara State, coccidian parasites, intestinal parasite, faecal samples, Nomadic FulaniAbstract
Parasitic infections are endemic worldwide and have been described as constituting the greatest single cause of illness and disease especially in the tropics. Fulani herdsmen belong to a tribe that lives a secluded life style with little information on their intestinal parasitic infections status. This study aimed at assessing the burden of intestinal parasites and risk factors associated with intestinal parasites transmission among Fulani herdsmen in Kwara State. Stool samples were collected from patients that attended three primary healthcare facilities in Ifelodun Local Government Area and one hospital in Moro Local Government Area. The 505 stool samples were collected and examined by both wet mount preparation and formol-ether concentration methods. Questionnaire on biodata and other information on factors associated with transmission of intestinal parasitic infections was administered on the patients. Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections was 60.4% among the Fulani. High proportion of the patients had coccidian parasites such as Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora and Isospora, than other protozoan and helminthic parasites. Factors like unsafe water sources, improper disposal of human and animal wastes, drinking unpasteurized fresh milk and poor personal hygiene were considered contributing factors to the high prevalence of intestinal parasites among the nomad Fulani. The study provided a new insight into burden of intestinal parasites among Fulani herdsmen and factors associated with their transmission and spread.
References
World Health Organization; Tropical Disease. 1990. Am. Soc. Microbiology (ASM), News, 56: 358-359
WHO. 2010. Prevention and control of intestinal parasitic infections: WHO Technical Report Series No. 749; Report of a WHO expert committee. WHO/Department of communicable disease, prevention, control and eradication; Geneva.
Adedoyin, M. A., Awogun, I. A., Luergensen, T. 1990. Prevalence of intestinal parasitoses in relationship to diarrhea among children in Ilorin, West Afri. J. Med., 9: 83-88.
Strunz, E. C., Addiss, D. G., Stocks, M. E., Ogden, S, Utzingerd, D., Freeman, M. C. 2014. Water, sanitation, hygiene and soil-transmitted helminth infections: a systemic review and meta-analysis. Plos Negl. Trop. Dis., 8: e3296. View article PubMed Central Google Scholar
Abbass, M. 2012. No retreat no surrender conflict for survival between Fulani pastoralists and farmers in Northen Nigeria: European Scientific Journal, 8(1): 335-339.
Iro, I. 1994. From nomadism to sedentarism: An analysis of development constraints and public policy issues in socioeconomic transformation of the pastoral Fulani of Nigeria (Thesis), Howard University.
WHO. 1994. Bench aids for diagnosis of intestinal parasites. World Health Organization, Geneva.
Ridley,D. S., Hawgood, B. C. 1965. The value of Formoletherconcentration in faecal cysts and ova. J. Clin. Pathol., 9: 74-76.
Cheesbrough, M. 2005. District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries, Part 1. Cambridge University Press, pp. 86-100.
Connie, R. M. and George, M. Jr. 1995. In: Text book of diagnostic Microbiology. WB. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, pp. 762-765.
Babatunde, S. K., Adedayo,M. R., Ajiboye, A. E., Sunday, O. and Ameen, N. 2013. Soil-transmitted helminth infections among school children in rural communities of Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. African Journal of Microbiology Research, 7(45): 5148- 5153.
Erismann, S., Diagboug, S., Odermatt, P., Knoblauch, A. M., Gerold, J., Shresttha, A., Grissoum, T., Kabore, A., Schindler, C., Utzinger, J. and Gueladio, C. 2016. Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and associated risk factors among school children in the Plateau Central and Centre – Ouest regions of Burkina Faso; Parasites and Vectors, 9: 554-559.
Damen, J. G., Luka, J. and Lugos, M. 2011. Prevalence of intestinal parasites among pupils in rural North Eastern Nigeria. Niger. Med. J., 52(1): 4-6.
Largberge, I., Ibrahim, A., Barta, J. R. and Griftiths, M. W.1996. Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum in raw milk by PCR and oligonucleotide Probe Hybridization. Applied Environmental Microbiology, 3259-3264
Center for Disease Control. 2015. Cryptosporidiosis, Cryptosporidium. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 1: New Mexico Raw Milk.
Roches, J. and Benito, A. 1999. Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections with special reference to Entamoeba histolytica on the Island of Bioko (Equatorial Guinea). Am. J. Trop. Med and Hygiene, 60 (20): 257-262.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Nigerian Journal of Parasitology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
