Occurrence of Cryptosporidium species and other zoonotic parasites among humans in Jos, Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria

This study determined the occurrence of Cryptosporidium species and other zoonotic parasites amongst Apparently Healthy Individuals (AHI) and People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Jos, using the formol ether concentration, saturated sodium chloride floatation techniques and the modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining method. A total of 600 human stool samples were analyzed; 300 each from AHI and PLWHA. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium species observed was 27% (162/600), while that observed amongst AHI and PLWHA were 24.7% (74/300) and 29.3% (88/300) respectively. The difference between the prevalence rates of AHI and PLWHA was statistically insignificant (p>0.05).For PLWHA prevalence rates for Cryptosporidium species in relation to age groups were highest 11% (33/300) and lowest 1.7% (5/300) for 0-10 and 31-40 years respectively. The age groups 11-20 and 21-30 recorded prevalence rates of 8.0% (24/300) and 3.0% (9/300) respectively while both 41-50 and >60 both revealed prevalence rates of 2.0% (6/300). Males recorded slightly higher prevalence 15% (45/300) than females 14.3% (43/300) which was statistically insignificant (p>0.05). For the AHI, prevalence rates were highest 9.7% (29/300) and lowest 1.3% (4/300) for age groups 11-20 and 41-50 years respectively. The age group 0-10 revealed a prevalence of 7.7% (23/300), while 11-20, 31-40 and 51-60 all recorded prevalence rates of 2.0% (6/300). The overall prevalence rates of other zoonotic parasites encountered were 5.3% (32/600), 9.8% (59/600), 3.0% (18/600), 5.2% (31/600), 5.0% (30/600) and 7.5% (45/600) for Giardia intestinalis, Entamoeba histolytica, Hymenolepis nana, Taenia saginata, Ascaris lumbricoides and Ancylostoma duodenale respectively. The overall prevalence rates of parasitoses observed was 56.7% (170/300) and 68.9% (207/300) for AHI and PLWHA respectively which was highly statistically significant (p<0.05). This study confirmed the increased risk of immunocompromised individuals to parasitic infections.