The Prevalence of Schistosomiasis and Other Parasites among Farmers in Fiidi Council Ward of Makurdi Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

Schistosomiasis and intestinal parasitic infections remain important public health problems in tropical communities where unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and occupational exposure to contaminated soil and freshwater occur. Farmers may be particularly vulnerable because of their frequent environmental exposure. This study determined parasitic infection among 500 farmers from five communities in Fiidi Council Ward of Makurdi Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria. Early morning stool samples were examined macroscopically and microscopically using direct wet preparation and formol-ether concentration techniques, and a structured questionnaire was used to obtain demographic, knowledge and behavioural information. The overall participant-level positivity reported in the age- and sex-stratified analyses was 68/500 (13.6%). Stool microscopy records included 72 detections reported as S. haematobium (14.4% of 500 examined), 65 E. histolytica/dispar (13.0%), 58 hookworm (11.6%), 10 S. mansoni (2.0%), five P. hominis (1.0%), three A. lumbricoides (0.6%) and two unresolved Trichomonas spp. records originally labelled T. vaginalis (0.4%). Because the stated methodology describes stool examination only, the records labelled S. haematobium cannot be interpreted as confirmed urogenital S. haematobium infection. The microscopy-only Entamoeba findings are therefore reported conservatively as E. histolytica/dispar. Age was significantly associated with reported parasitic infection positivity (χ² = 44.53, df = 4, p < 0.001), whereas sex was not significantly associated (χ² = 0.83, df = 1, p = 0.361). The community tables contain distributions of recorded parasite detections rather than participant prevalence estimates because community-specific numbers examined are not provided. The findings document multiple stool-detected parasite records among farmers, but species-specific and community-specific inferences should be interpreted within these diagnostic and denominator limitations. Control efforts should emphasise health education, sanitation, safe water, protective footwear, periodic screening and confirmatory diagnosis where species-specific treatment or surveillance decisions are required.