Public Health Risk Assessment and Prevalence of Geophagy Among Pregnant Women and Children in Calabar, Nigeria.

Abstract

Schistosomiasis remains a major public health challenge in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in riverine communities where exposure to infested water is common. Despite control efforts, this disease continues to affect school-aged children and leads to significant morbidity. This study investigated the prevalence of urogenital schistosomiasis, egg intensity, and associated risk factors among primary school children in the riverine communities of Taraba State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Bali, Donga, Ibi, Lau, Karim-Lamido, and Sardauna Local Government Areas (LGAs). Urine samples were collected from primary school children and examined via. Chi-square and multinomial logistic regression tests were used to determine statistical significance at P. Of the 1,373 primary school children, 7.9% (108/1,373) were observed. The highest infection rate was observed in Bali LGA (13.1%, 30/228), whereas Lau LGArecorded the lowest infection rate of 3.5% (8/226) (χ² = 14.82, p = 0.002). Age-specific prevalence showed that children aged 13–17 years had the highest infection rate (9.3%, 25/269), followed by those aged 8–12 years (7.6%, 74/980), whereas the lowest prevalence was found among children aged 3–7 years (7.3%, 9/124) (χ² = 10.46, p = 0.015). A significant variation in prevalence was also observed across the schools (χ² = 74.49, p=0.0023). Lau LGAhad the highest intensity of light infection, 100% (8/8), while Karim-Lamido had the highest intensity of heavy infection of eggs, 44.4% (8/14) (χ2 = 12.805; p≤0.05). Pupils who went fishing were exposed to urogenital schistosomiasis with an adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) of 2.11; 95% CI: 1.18-3.76, p=0.011), as well as swimming and bathing (aOR=2.32; 95% CI: 1.14-4.72; p=0.019), and swimming and fishing (aOR=2.01; 95% CI: 1.20-3.36; p=0.008). Pupils who used to go playing in ponds/rivers and those who used to go washing were also exposed to the infection (aOR=3.43; 95% CI: 1.56-7.53; p=0.002) and(aOR=3.61; 95% CI: 1.78-7.33), respectively. Urogenital schistosomiasis shows low endemicity among school-aged children in the riverine communities of Taraba State, Nigeria. The highest infection rate was recorded in Bali among children aged 13-17 years old. Therefore, control programs should prioritise the provision of clean water, health education, and target interventions in high-risk areas to reduce the transmission and morbidity among children.