Prevalence of urinary Schistosomiasis in Umuowele, Agulu community, Anambra state, Nigeria

Purpose: To apply molecular techniques in producing a proper data on the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in Umuowele community located around Agulu Dam, Southwest Nigeria. Methods: Urine samples from 108 pupils were screened for schistosomiasis using haematuria and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of schistosome Dra1 repeat. Six snails collected from the human-water contact site in the lake were also screened for schistosome infection by PCR amplification of the Dra1 repeat while PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used for snail species identification. Results: Haematuria revealed 48.1% prevalence rate among the pupils while PCR showed 58.3%. Three snails were also positive for schistosome infection one of which was identified as Bulinus truncatus while the other two belonged to the genus, Physa. Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of S. haematobium infection among the participants. PCR was able to detect infection in cases otherwise shown to be negative by haematuria, thereby making it possible for all the infected participants to receive treatment. Bulinus truncatus is one of the snails which may be responsible for the transmission of urinary schistosomiasis in the community.