Helminthiasis in pregnancy in Enugu, Nigeria

This prospective study was carried out between July and December 2000 at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), to determine the species and prevalence of intestinal helminthes in pregnant women attending antenatal clinics. A total of 161 stool samples were collected from the women. The samples were examined by the kato thick smear technique. For each stool sample, two kato slides were made and the average of the total number of eggs was taken. The prevalence of helminthic infection was 11.8% with only Ascaris lumbricoides (8.7%) and Trichuris trichuria (3.1%) being detected. The intensity of infection was generally high with a geometric mean intensity of 50.1 eggs per gm of faeces. About 11.8% of cases were multiple infections. There was no significant difference between the mean haemoglobim levels in both the infected pregnant women and the non-infected pregnant women. The poor socioeconomic status of the women coupled with poor environmental sanitation and lack of clean portable water supply contributed to the high prevalence of these parasites.