Human Onchocerciasis among Children and Teenagers in Rural Nigerian Farm Settlement
Okoro Onyekwere Joseph
Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
Okoye Chris Ikem
Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
Nnamonu Emmanuel Ikechukwu *
Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
Onyishi Grace Chinyere
Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
Ani Ogonna Christiana
Department of Applied Biology, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria.
Martins Paul Emenike
Department of Microbiology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study investigated the prevalence of onchocerciasis among children and teenagers (1-15 years of age) in Adani - Enugu state, Nigeria. Rapid Assessment Method (RAM) was used during the study. Among 210 subjects examined, 66 (31.4%) were shown to be positive. Occurrence of the symptoms showed that onchocerca skin disease had 21.4%, onchocercoma, 8.6% and leopard skin, 1.4% respectively. Age was shown to be a major determinant for onchocerciasis prevalence, as 13-15 years age group had the highest percentage of occurrence (41.0%) while the 1-3 years age bracket had the least occurrence (16.7%). This demonstrates the cumulative nature of the disease which occurs with advance in age. There was no significant difference between the male (45.5%) and female (35.3%) infections (P>0.05). The frequency of Onchocerca Skin Deisease (OSD) studied revealed that acute papular onchodermatitis (APOD) appeared most among the children (71.7%) while depigmentation (DPM) had the least occurrence (4.4%). Nodules location and leopard skin were also investigated among the subjects. However, none of the candidates showed sign of visual impairment or blindness.
Keywords: Onchocerciasis, Simulium damnosum, prevalence, infection, children, symptoms, age, sex