Age and sex graded helminth infections in a Nigerian village

Prevalence of helminth parasites was carried out in both male and female villagers graded into three age groups (5-14 years, 15-25 years, 26-55 years). Children between 5 and 14 years of age had the highest prevalence of Ascaris, Schistosoma haematobium and Trichuris while the villagers between 26-55 years of age had lowest prevalence of these parasites. However, hookworms were highly common among the villagers aged between 26 and 55 years and least common among the school children aged between 5 and 14 years. Female children between the ages of 5 and 14 years and males of the same age group were highly infested with Ascaris and Trichuris. This finding in a Nigerian village suggested that helminth infestation is age and sex dependent which is therefore a factor of the frequency in host-parasite contact determined by mode of life of the parasites and the hosts.