Authors

A S OluwoleS IsiyakuA A AlieroC NwosuA WilliamE ElhassanU F Ekpo ¹ Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria;  ² Kebbi State Ministry of Health, Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria;  ³ Sightsavers Kaduna, Nigeria, Nigeria;  ⁴ Sightsavers Regional office, Accra, Ghana, Nigeria;  ⁵ Sightsavers, Kaduna, Nigeria, Nigeria

Discussion

Mass drug administration (MDA) of ivermectin and albendazole for the treatment of onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis have also been hypothesized to have an impact on the burden of soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) in MDA communities. An assessment of the prevalence of STH (A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura, and hookworm) infections in nine communities after 5-years (2010-2015) post-MDA for onchocerciasis and/or lymphatic filariasis was carried out in three local government areas (LGAs) of Kebbi State. Two intervention LGAs, Bagudo and Zuru are implementing Ivermectin and Ivermectin/Albendazole MDAs respectively while the control LGA was Dandi (with no history of MDA). A total of 1357 stool samples were collected and examined for STH infection in October 2015. Zuru LGA (173/413) had the highest prevalence of 41.89%, followed by Dandi LGA (108/438) with a prevalence of 24.66% and Bagudo LGA (17/506) with a prevalence of 3.36% respectively. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the prevalence of STH among the LGAs. Prevalence of infection was significantly higher (p<0.05) in school-age children (55.03%) than in adult (44.97%). The impact of current MDA on the burden of STH in Zuru LGAs (ivermectin/albendazole MDA) was minimal when compared Bagudu LGA (ivermectin MDA) and Dandi LGA (no MDA). Treatment coverage was less than 65% in both LGAs from 2010-2013.