Human Exposure to Urinary Schistosomiasis in Cross River State, Nigeria

Human Exposure to Urinary Schistosomiasis in Cross River State, Nigeria

By

U. W_. Ibor (Ph. D)

Department of Geography, Federal University Lokoja, Nigeria

uguru.ibor@fulokoja.edu.ng; uguruwisdom@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Human water contact affects the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis whose transmission is associated with poor public health practice. This study examined factors of vulnerability to urinary schistosomiasis within the context of the Triangle of Human Ecology of Disease in endemic communities. Seven endemic communities were purposively selected for the study across the three Senatorial districts that make up the state. A set of 800 copies of the questionnaire designed for the study were distributed to respondents. The systematic sampling technique was used to administer the questionnaire on respondents. Data were collected on level of exposure to stream, swamp and river vector source as well as household sanitary factors. Canonical Correlation analysis was performed to determine the relationship between household sanitary factors and exposure to vector environment at P 0.05. The canonical structure correlation shows that the first linear combination of independent variables loaded positively and heavily on household residential quality (0.54), while the first linear combination of dependent variable loaded negatively and heavily on exposure to river (-0.96). For the second canonical variate, the linear combination of independent variables loaded negatively and heavily on household toilet quality (-0.68), while the second linear combination of dependent variable loaded negatively on exposure to stream (-0.53) and positively on exposure to swamp (0.84). On the third canonical variate, the linear combination of independent variables loaded negatively on distance from place of work to infection source (-0.52), and the third linear combination of dependent variables loaded positively on exposure to stream (0.85) and swamp (0.55) respectively. These results show that those who live in good houses and work less frequently in vector environments were less exposed to urinary schistosomiasis in endemic communities. These findings lend credence to the significance of Human Ecology of Disease in public health practice.

Key word: Schistosomiasis, Vector environments, Triangle of Human Ecology of Disease, Endemic communitie