The prevalence of typhoid fever in Bingham University

Abstract

Typhoid fever remains a major cause of enteric disease and a significant public health problem. The disease is said to be very prevalent in the developing countries, of which Nigeria is one. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of typhoid fever among Bingham University students. A total of 125 blood and stool samples were collected randomly from both male and female students of Bingham University. The blood samples were tested for salmonella antigen using Widal test while stool samples were cultured on Salmonella/Shigella agar for the isolation of the causative agent. From the Widal test 80 (69.6%) samples were positive for Salmonella typhi infection, while the stool culture yielded 94 (75.2%) samples that showed the presence of Salmonella typhi. The gender distribution showed that the prevalence was higher in female students (87.30%) than the male students (62.90%). The infection was highest in the age group of 21-25 years which had 86.36% prevalence. The lowest prevalence was observed in the age group 26-30 years with 46.15%. The prevalence of typhoid fever is generally high in the University. Therefore, proper sanitary measures should be observed by the students in the university. The results also proved the superiority and reliability of stool culture technique over the Widal test in the diagnosis of Salmonella typhi infection. This study will provide the school administration adequate knowledge on the infection and serve as a guide in proffering solution to halt further spread of the disease in the institution.