Adewale Babatunde, Mogaji Hammed, Balogun Joshua, Balogun Emmanuel, Olamiju Francisca, Herbert De'Broski
Public Health and Epidemiology Department, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba Lagos 101245, Nigeria.
Parasitology and Epidemiology Unit, Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye-Ekiti 371104, Nigeria.
Pathogens. 2023 Mar 21;12(3):491. doi: 10.3390/pathogens12030491.
Nigeria remains the most endemic country in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH). In line with ongoing monitoring plans, we present findings from a recent analysis of STH epidemiological data in Borgu, one of the non-endemic implementation units for STH in the northcentral region of Nigeria. An overall prevalence of 8.8% was recorded for STH infection, which corresponds to a 51.9% decline from the 18.3% reported in 2013. All the infected participants (36 out of 410) had a low intensity of infection. However, more than two-thirds (69%) of the children do not have access to latrine facilities, and 45% of them walk barefoot. Prevalence was significantly associated with community, age, and parental occupation. About 21-25% reduced odds were reported in some of the study communities, and children whose parents were traders had 20 times lower odds of infection compared to those whose parents were farmers. The ongoing preventive chemotherapy program for lymphatic filariasis in the area could be responsible for the huge reduction in prevalence and intensity estimates for STH. It is therefore important to invest in monitoring transmission dynamics in other non-endemic areas to arrest emerging threats through the provision of complementary interventions including WASH facilities and other health educational tools.
尼日利亚仍是撒哈拉以南非洲地区土壤传播蠕虫病（STH）流行程度最高的国家。根据现行监测计划，我们展示了近期对尼日利亚中北部地区博尔古STH非流行实施单位之一的STH流行病学数据分析结果。STH感染的总体患病率为8.8%，与2013年报告的18.3%相比下降了51.9%。所有受感染参与者（410人中有36人）感染强度较低。然而，超过三分之二（69%）的儿童无法使用厕所设施，其中45%的儿童赤脚行走。患病率与社区、年龄和父母职业显著相关。在一些研究社区中，报告的感染几率降低了约21%-25%，父母为商人的儿童感染几率比父母为农民的儿童低20倍。该地区正在实施的淋巴丝虫病预防性化疗项目可能是STH患病率和感染强度大幅下降的原因。因此，投资监测其他非流行地区的传播动态，通过提供包括水、环境卫生和个人卫生设施以及其他健康教育工具在内的补充干预措施来遏制新出现的威胁非常重要。
