The epidemiology of human intestinal helminthiasis in Ibadan, South Western Nigeria.

An epidemiological survey of human faeces collected from open places in native quarters and from volunteers in modern housing areas was conducted so as to ascertain the intestinal helminth infections in Ibadan a town in South Western Nigeria. Out of four hundred and seventy eight stool samples examined between February 1980 and January 1981 in twenty nine localities grouped into 7 zones, Ascaris (Round worm) Trichuris (Whip worm) and hookworm were most prevalent. Ascaris and hookworms were three times as prevalent in native areas as in modern quarters. Two local dispensary records confirmed many reported cases of 'stomach aches' that responded to deworming therapy. The public health significance of open field defecation is discussed. The need to resuscitate the public sanitary inspectors' act as practiced prior to the country's independence in 1960 is also advocated.