Reliability Of Self-Reported Blood In Urine For Diagnosis Of Schistosoma Haematobium In A Community In South-Eastern Nigeria

The present study assessed the value of self-reported blood in urine as a tool to estimate the prevalence of infection with Schistosoma haematobium. A questionnaire which sought questions about blood in urine was administered to 150 school children from Adim, Cross River State, Nigeria. Each child also provided a urine sample that was parasitologically processed for eggs of S. haematobium. The prevalence of self-reported blood in urine was 82 (54.7%) while the laboratory diagnosis revealed a prevalence of 68 (45.3%) P>0.05. The prevalence of self-reported blood in urine correlated positively (r = 0.833; p 0.05). The peak prevalence was observed among children aged between 7 –8 years old. This finding suggest that selfreported blood in urine might provide a reliable tool for identifying schools and communities with high prevalence of S. haematobium infection. This will be of immense benefits to any control programme in the distribution of the drug of choice praziquantel to endemic communities.