ORIGINAL: Wuchereria Bancrofti Infection in Children Living in a Rubber Plantation Estate in South-South Nigeria

West Afr J Med . 2022 Dec 29;39(12):1294-1298.

Abstract

Abstract  in English, French

Background: Chronic manifestations of bancrofti filariasis can be debilitating. There is paucity of description of this disease in the childhood population, yet early detection can prevent disability such as elephantiasis.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and clinical features of this infection among children in a plantation estate in Cross River State, Nigeria.

Methods: It was a cross-sectional study in subjects aged 1 to 18 years, recruited from the nine camps of the settlement, using multistage sampling technique. The presence of Circulating Filarial Antigen (CFA) was tested for using Immunochromatographic Card Technique (ICT). Simple proportions, percentages, Chi square and Fisher's exact tests were used to analyse the data.

Results: A total of 342 subjects were recruited into the study. One hundred and sixty three (47.7%) were males. The mean age was 8.52± 4.41years. Majority of the subjects, 316(92.4%), were from families of low socioeconomic status. Twenty of the 342 children (5.8%) were positive for microfilaria antigenaemia. Increasing age (p=0.006) and duration of stay in the estate (p=0.005) were positively associated with antigenaemia. None (0%) of the 55 subjects who used insecticide treated nets was positive for CFA, while 20 (6.97%) of the 287 who did not, were positive (p=0.03). Only ten (3.95%) of the 253 subjects who used insecticide spray vs 10 (11.0%) of the 89 who did not use spray were positive for CFA (p=0.016). Itching was the only significant symptom identified.

Conclusion: The prevalence of Wuchereria bancrofti in the subjects was 5.8%, with increasing prevalence with age. Itching was the only significant clinical feature. The use of insecticide treated nets and insecticide sprays significantly reduced the chances of being infected. There is a need for elimination programme to be extended to the childhood population and to sub-urban areas.

Keywords: Bancrofti filariasis; Children; Endemic area.

E E Ekanem ¹, B D Umoh ¹