A helminthological study of stool and urine samples collected from 1, 037 people from four rural communities in Gumau District of Bauchi State, Nigeria was carried out using formo-ether concentration and direct centrifugation methods respective ly. The study is the first parasitological survey to be carried out in the district. Thirty-nine per cent of examined persons were infected. Ova of
Ascaris lumbricoides, Schis-tosoma haematobium, Schistosoma mansoni and
Trichuris trichiura were most common. Hookworm, tapeworm and
Strongyloides stercoralis were also encountered, 17.9% and 10. 8% of examined persons had
S. haematobium and
S. mansoni infections respectively. Water demand index (number of persons per well) for each community was calculated as a ratio of the total population to the number of safe water sources available in that community. A significant relationship was found between water demand index and S.
haematobium (r = 0.95) on one hand, and
S. mansoni (r = 0.88) on the other (P < 0.01). Such relationship was not found in soil borne helminth infections. A similarly significant association was found between distance from river and prevalence of
S. haematobium (r = 0.94) on one hand and
S. mansoni (r = 0.95) on the other (P < 0.01) but not found in soil-borne helminth infections. These findings seem to suggest that water demand index may be an important factor in the epidemiology of Schistosome infections in rural communities. Water demand index may also be a useful field technique for estimating and comparing the rates of water associated helminth infections in rural communities with comparable environmental conditions.
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