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Human intestinal parasites among inmates of Keffi prison, Nasarawa State, Nigeria


G Amuga
D Usman
COE Onwuliri

Abstract

Feces of inmates of Keffi prison were investigated for the prevalence of intestinal parasites between May and June 2004, using the wet mount and formol-ether concentration techniques. Of the 167 inmates in the prison at the time of the study, 125 (74.85%) were infected with various intestinal parasites. Ascaris lumbricoides (20.96%), Entamoeba histolytica (19.76%), hookworms (19.16%), Schistosoma mansoni (7.18%), Entamoeba coli (6.58%) and Strogyloides stercoralis (1.19%) were recorded. Twenty-six (15.56%) inmates had mixed infection. The combination of hookworms/E. histolytica (5.38%) and A.lumbricoides/E histolytica (3.59%) dominated the cases of double infections. Triple infections manifested in two inmates. Higher infection rates (96.42%) were in 15 – 20 years old inmates. Inmates who had been in the prison for less than one month had 100% prevalence. Inmates that were farmers and artisans had 86.95% and 82.35% prevalence of infection respectively, while those that were civil servants had 30.76%. Higher prevalence of 78.57% and 78.12% were also recorded for inmates who were drinking water from the wells and streams respectively. Infection rates of 69.82% and 62.50% were equally observed among inmates that were using pit latrines and water cistern toilets respectively.

International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences Vol. 2(1) 2006: 7-11

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