Prevalence and Distribution of Hookworm Infection among Pupils of University of Calabar Staff School, Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

For decades, hookworm infections have been known to be a major problem of public health, affecting mostly children and causing significant impact on their health. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence rates between age and sex of school children affected using University of Calabar Staff School, Calabar, Nigeria. Stool samples were collected from the pupils and examined using direct smear, formal-ether concentration and brine floatation techniques. The frequency of hookworm infection was more in males, 11(11.3%) than in females, 7(6.8%) consisting the 18 positive children sampled from the 200 pupils and the highest prevalence was found among the 13-15 years age group (33.3%). The statistical analysis showed no significant difference for both age and sex (p>0.05). Hookworm infections have decreased in recent years due to the increasing development of the country and other personal hygiene observed thus, continuous deworming program by Cross River State government and the Nigerian Government should be conducted in primary schools to lower the rate of the infection.