Screening for <i>Schistosoma haematobium</i> infection in a rural cohort of pregnant women in Nigeria

Abstract

Studies were conducted to investigate the occurrence of Schistosoma haematobium infection among 37 pregnant Nigerian women in llie, Osun state, Nigeria and to determine the effects on haemoglobin concentration and clinical symptoms. Out of the 37 pregnant women seen over a period of nine months, 14 (37%) had urinary schistosomiasis, with a mean egg count of 82.5 eggs/10 mls of urine. The mean haemoglobin values in women with schistosomiasis mothers were lower than in women negative for the parasite but the differences were not stastically significant (P>0.05). Abdominal pain was the predominant complaint among the women seen in with 71% of the infected women while other complaints were dizziness, fever and headache. This study shows that schistosomiasis is prevalent among pregnant women in rural area and could contribute to anaemia and abdominal pain commonly seen in pregnant women in our environment.


Keywords: schistosomiasis, pregnant women, abdominal pain, haemoglobin values, Nigeria


African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology Vol. 6 (3) 2005: 199-202