Urinary Schistosomiasis in Two Endemic Communities of Cross River Basin: Prevalence, Intensity, and Treatment

We diagnosed schistosomiasis due to S. haematobium in Obudu and Biase Local Government Areas of Cross River State, Nigeria, using the membrane filtration technique. Altogether, 1,326 urine samples where screened. Of the 722 individual urine screened in Biase, 444 (61.5%) were positive cases, while in Obudu 354 (58.6%) were positive out of the 604 subjects screened. Males from both communities had a higher prevalence and intensity rate (P< 0.05) than Females. The relative index of potential infection (RIPI) of each age group shows that 6-20 yeas of age contributed 84.22% and 87.4% of total contamination of the environment with S. haematobium eggs in Biase and Obudu respectively. Treatment with praziquantel (40mgkg-1) of 80 randomly selected positive cases from both communities showed a cure rate of 57.1-100% at 7-56 days after treatment. Key Words: Schistosoma haematobium, Cross River Basin, Prevalence, Intensity, Praziquantel. [Mary Slessor Jnl of Medicine Vol.3(1) 2003: 28-34