Cn Ukaga

Local knowledge and perceptions on the transmission, treatment and prevention of loiasis in parts of Niger Delta Area of Imo State, Nigeria

Indigenous knowledge and perceptions on the transmission, treatment and prevention of loiasis was investigated in parts of the Niger Delta Area of Imo State, Nigeria. Data was obtained using pretested questionnaires, in-depth interviews and participant-observation techniques. Knowledge about the disease was based mainly on recognition of clinical manifestations (eye worm and calabar swelling). The males (58.2%) knew more about the disease than the females (41.8%). Respondents,60 years above (51%) had the most knowledge about the disease. Health workers (58.5%) had more knowledge of the disease among occupational groups. Only 2.8% of respondents attributed transmission of infection to the vector fly, chrysops species. The preferred methods of disease prevention included: maintenance of personal hygiene (18.5%) for eye worm and avoidance of insect bite (19.3%) for calabar swelling. Herbal therapy was mostly preferred for treating the disease manifestations. The results from this study suggests a need for the introduction of community education programmes aimed at creating awareness on the disease so as to ensure better control and preventive measures.

Mansonelliasis amongst nomadic Fulani herdsmen of south-eastern Nigeria

This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of Mansonella perstans infection amongst the nomadic Fulani herdsmen of south-eastern Nigeria. Physical examination of 709 consenting nomads for clinical manifestations of M. perstans infection was carried out between September 2004 and August 2005. This was followed by parasitological examination of blood samples collected by finger prick method to identify microfilariae (mf). Data collected was stratified by bush encampment in various states, age and sex and analyzed using the chi-square test. Overall, 43 (6.1%) of 709 nomads were infected. Ebonyi State bush encampments have the highest prevalence (9.5%), followed by Imo State encampments (6.5%) with Enugu State as the least (4.5%). There was slight significant variation amongst various bush encampments (p Keywords : Mansonella perstans, nomadic Fulani herdsmen, south-eastern Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 28 (2) 2007: pp. 83-86

Miracidial infectivity of snail host ( Bulinus truncatus ) in the laboratory

Miracidial infectivity rate of snail Bulinus truncatus collected from Agulu Lake was studied in the laboratory. The snails were maintained in the laboratory and eggs deposited were allowed to hatch and dates noted until snails of different ages were produced. These snails were consequently exposed to miracidia hatched from eggs collected from urine of patients known to have active S. haematobium infections. Infection of snails in the laboratory showed that the miracidia can penetrate snail of any age. For the snails of ages 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks, 15 (60%), 13 (52%), 12 (48%) and 14 (56%) miracidia respectively penetrated. The study showed that 54 out of 100 (54%) of miracidia penetrated the snail Bulinus truncatus while 46 out of 100 (46%) miracidia did not penetrate the snail species. Penetration was found to be independent of the age of snail (÷² = 7.8, df=3). The implication of the findings to the effort of the disease control is discussed. Keywords : Bulinus truncatus , miracidia, age of snail, S. haematobium, laboratory. Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 29 (2) 2008: pp. 77-79