Endemic status of urogenital schistosomiasis and the efficacy of a single-dose praziquantel treatment in unmapped rural farming communities in Oyo East Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria

Background Schistosomiasis is endemic in Nigeria, and the treatment is largely concentrated on children enrolled in schools. Consequently, the coverage of non-enrolled school-aged children is often neglected. Ajagba and Awosan are two communities in Nigeria that have never had any control intervention. Hence, this survey was designed to determine the endemicity of urogenital schistosomiasis and to evaluate the efficacy of a single-dose praziquantel in the communities.Methods Urine sample (10 mL) of each participant from Ajagba and Awosan communities was filtered through 12 mu m polycarbonate filter. The filter was placed on a microscope slide, and stained with a drop of 1% Lugol iodine solution. The stained slides were examined under the microscope and the numbers of S. haematobium eggs were counted. Water contact sites were searched for snail hosts and the snails collected were shed for Schistosoma cercariae. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 and the significance level was set at 95%.Results The overall prevalence of infection in the Ajagba community was 45.6% with a mean intensity of 61.1 +/- 144.5 eggs/10 mL of urine, while the prevalence of infection in the Awosan community was 5.7% with a mean intensity of 1.4 +/- 6.8 eggs/10 mL of urine. The school-aged children had a prevalence and mean intensity of infection of 73.1% and 111.6 +/- 177.9 eggs/10 mL of urine, respectively. Following treatment, women had a higher egg reduction rate than men (p = 0.0283). Bulinus globosus were found in Ajagba but not in Awosan, with 5.7% shedding Schistosoma spp, cercariae.Conclusion Urogenital schistosomiasis was hyperendemic in the Ajagba community, and hypoendemic in the Awosan community. The presence of Bulinus globosus supported the transmission of the schistosomiasis in the Ajagba community. Communities where schistosomiasis is still actively transmitted in Nigeria should be identified for effective intervention through the MDA programs. Schistosoma haematobium causes urogenital schistosomiasis that is endemic and widely distributed in Nigeria. For effective control strategies, it is important to continue to identify and classify communities where the disease is still been transmitted. A cross-sectional community-based survey was conducted in two closely located rural farming communities that had not had any control interventions, to determine the status of the disease in the communities, and initiate the administration of medicine. Urine samples were collected from volunteering participants and examined for S. haematobium eggs. Of 167 participants who submitted urine samples in the two communities, 32.9% were infected. The Ajagba community had more infected participants (45.6%) than the Awosan community (5.7%). All age groups were infected in the Ajagba community, but school-aged children were more infected than any other age group. Snail intermediate hosts were found at the water contact site in Ajagba but not at water contact site in Awosan. The study suggests that communities with natural freshwater bodies that harbor appropriate snail intermediate hosts are at greater risk of infection.