Prevalence of Urinary Tract Pathology among Pupils Infected with Urinary Schistosomiasis and Those Not Infected with the Infection in Ndokwa-East Lga of Delta State, Nigeria

Background: The prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis has remained relatively high, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The urinary tract pathology (UTP) of urinary schistosomiasis is a common complication of the infection, and it is a disease of major public health importance, especially in developing countries with poor health resources. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and the pattern of urinary tract ultrasonographic abnormalities among primary school children with urinary schistosomiasis and those without the infection in Ndokwa-East Local Government Area (NELGA) of Delta State. Methods: This study was a cross sectional comparative study of primary school children aged 5-15 years in Ndokwa-East Local Government Area (NELGA) of Delta State. Urine microscopy was used to separate infected and uninfected primary school pupils, after which they participated in an ultrasound examination for urinary tract pathologies, using World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for schistosomiasis morbidity. Results: The Urinary tract ultrasonographic abnormalities identified among the infected subjects were bladder wall pathologies (77.3%), hydronephrosis (40.9%) and hydroureter (9.1%), while bladder wall pathologies (13.6%) were the only UTP identified among uninfected subjects. The odds of having UTP were over 20 times higher among the infected cases than the uninfected controls: OR = 21.53 (95% C.I= 4.46-103.90). Conclusion: The prevalence of UTP was significantly higher among schistosomiasis-infected pupils when compared to uninfected subjects in this study, further supporting the fact that UTP noted from this study may most likely be from urinary schistosomiasis.