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| Prevalence of Typhoid Infection among Antenatal Clients Attending Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital Kano, Nigeria
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Auwal Adam Gwale; Musa Ahmed Abubakar and Sagir Kabir
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Abstract:
Typhoid infection is among the major prevalent disease in Nigeria due to various interconnected factors such as scarcity of social amenities for handling unwanted products, poor hygienic environment, absence of or insufficient clean water supply and abuse of antibiotics. The disease is a significant health concern in most developing countries especially Nigeria. The study was aimed to determine the prevalence of typhoid infection among antenatal clients at Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital Kano, Nigeria in relation to age, Level of education, occupation and location, assess factors associated with the infection and to provide useful information on its prevention and control measures. A hospital based cross sectional study from July to September 2023 was carried out in pregnant women aged 17-45 years at the Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital Kano. Serology (Widal test) and bacteriological analyses (stool culture) were conducted and compared among 250 participants. Questionnaires were administered to the correspondents to evaluate the level of knowledge, occupation and location. Results were finally presented on bar charts and tables. The results obtained showed that 175 (70.0%) of the participants were seropositive for typhoid fever, whereas 142 (56.6%) were positive based on bacteriological analysis. Participants between age groups; 26-35 years old had the highest prevalence rate of 115 (73.9%) and the least was found in the age 36-45 years where 42 out of 77 were positive with a prevalence of 54.5%. There was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) between the prevalence of typhoid fever among the various age groups of the pregnant women analyzed. In relation to the level of education, participants with Non-formal education had the highest prevalence rate of typhoid infection 161 (64.4%). There was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) between the prevalence of typhoid fever based on the educational level of the pregnant women investigated. Based on occupation of the participants, women who were involved in businesses recorded the highest prevalence rate of 65.9% and the least was found in those that are employed with a prevalence of 32.3%. The study shows a significant difference between typhoid and the occupation of the pregnant women in the area (p < 0.05). With respect to the location of the participants, Semi-urban areas recorded the highest prevalence of 67.8%. Therefore, age, level of education, occupation and location have a major impact on the burden of typhoid infection among pregnant women. Thus, state of pregnancy makes women more vulnerable to typhoid infection by affecting the physiology of pivotal organs, therefore early and prompt diagnosis of the infection is highly essential.
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