Incidence of Typhoid Fever, Malaria, Hepatitis B and C, Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Urinary Tract Infections in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Infectious diseases remain one of the major public health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, where environmental, socio-economic and infrastructural limitations hinder disease prevention and control. Among the most prevalent and clinically significant are malaria, typhoid fever, viral hepatitis, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, all of which contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality. Aims: This study investigated the incidence of selected infectious diseases and urinary tract abnormalities among individuals in a community-based setting of Ikere-Ekiti local government area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. Methodology: A total of 350 participants were screened for the presence of malaria parasites, typhoid fever, Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C viruses, and urinary tract infections (UTI) using standard diagnostic methods. The participants were selected using cross sectional study design and stratified random sampling method. Results: Results revealed that malaria and typhoid fever had the highest incidence rate of 53.1% while HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C recorded significantly lower rates of 0.6%, 0%, and 0.6%, respectively, (p= 0.05). Urinalysis showed that 2.0%, 0.6% and 0.9% of the participants tested positive for the presence of nitrite, protein and blood respectively indicating mild urinary tract infection. Malaria and typhoid fever remain the most prevalent infectious diseases, posing significant public health challenges in the region, particularly among young and middle-aged adults. Conclusion: The very low incidence of viral infections (HIV, HBV and HCV) suggests improvements in public health awareness and preventive measures. The study recommends continuous public health education, improved sanitation, regular medical screening and vector control programs to reduce the spread of these infectious diseases most specially malaria. Strengthening laboratory capacity and promoting community-based surveillance are essential for early detection and effective management of disease outbreaks.