Onchocerciasis among inhabitants of Ibarapa local government community of Oyo state, Niger
Authors:
ATULOMAH Nnodimele
Publication Type: Journal article
Journal:
ISSN Number:
0
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Abstract
This descriptive study on onchocerciasis was conducted among 72 randomly selected
inhabitants of rural community, in Oyo State, Nigeria, during the planting season between the months of April and June. Demographic information, the length of time the subjects had lived in the study area and previous treatments received for the disease (if any), were obtained using a questionnaire. The effect of ivermectin administration was investigated in the study area.
The objectives of the study were to identify the age brackets and occupation of the inhabitants at high risk, and to determine the severity of infection in the study area. Four skin snips were
obtained from both scapular regions and the two gluteal folds of each participant, and examined
for microfilaria of Onchocerca volvulus. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 12.0, involving descriptive statistics, frequencies, percentages and the student t-test to test for
significance.
Thirty-nine, (54%) of the subjects were infected with onchocerciasis. Microfilaria count in the skin was higher among males (30.5%) than in females (23.6%), although there was no significant difference. Subjects between the ages of 21 – 30 years had higher positivity of
11.1%, while those between 11-20 years had 9.8% the presence of “Leopard skin†and palpable
onchocerca nodules were 20.8% and 6.9% respectively. The frequency of blindness was 2.7%, while there was an association between occupation and severity of infection. There was an
association between itching and the presence of microfilaria. The importance of onchocerciasis
control programmes in the study area is highlighted.