Haemoglobin Status Of Children With Mixed Infection Of Malaria And Urinary Schistosomiasis In Odau Community, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The haemoglobin status of children with malaria and/ urinary schistosomiasis was studied over a period of six months (from August 2006-January 2007) at Odau in Abua Odual Local Government Area Rivers State, Nigeria. Two hundred (200) children aged between six months and fourteen (0-14) years were randomly selected for the study, out of which one-hundred and eight-seven (187; 93.5%) were infected with either or both diseases. The overall rate of mixed- infection was 75.0%, a bit lower than the rates of the single infections. Age prevalence for all the infection categories peaked in the five to nine (5-9)years old age category and there-after declined. Majority of the children with mixed infection of malaria and urinary schistosomiasis especially those in the zero to four (0-4) years age group, were found to have very low haemoglobin concentration relative to those with single infections and the uninfected ones. A negative linear relationship (r = 0.01; p = 0.99) was found between low haemoglobin concentration and prevalence of mixed-infection. The occurrence of low concentrations of haemoglobin (less than 11.0mg/dl) was highest in children with mixed infection (59.9%) while it was less for the malaria (39.6%) and the schistosomiasis (32.6%) groups. The rate of low haemoglobin was higher in children with malaria than in those with urinary schistosomiasis although the later had higher prevalence of infection. The age related prevalence of low hemoglobin concentration rose to a peak in the ten to fourteen (10-14) years old Improved economic and health conditions of the children and the entire community will help reduce the pathology of these endemic infections especially, in the most vulnerable individuals.

Keywords: low haemoglobin concentration, children, malaria, urinary schistosomiasis

Journal of Agriculture and Social Research Vol. 7 (1) 2007: pp. 56-62