Prevalence of Some Parasitic Protozoan Species along Kumbotso and Wudil River, Kano Nigeria

Over the past few decades, pathogenic enteric protozoa have been increasingly implicated in compromising the health of millions of people, mostly in developing countries. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of parasitic protozoan species along Kumbotso and Wudil River in Kano, Nigeria. Four (4) water samples were collected from four different points of the river namely; Challawa, Kumbotso, Tamburawa and Wudil. The water samples were left to stay undisturbed for 24 hours at room temperature and the supernatant were examined microscopically, as a 0.9% saline smear, for parasite cysts and trophozoites. Samples were stained with Lugol’s iodine for easy identification. The result showed that 4 different species of parasitic protozoans were found namely; Entamoeba histolytica, Cryptosporidium sp, Giardia sp and Blastocystis sp. Entamoeba histolytica has the highest number of occurrence with 54 appearances which accounted for 48.2%, followed by Cryptosporidium sp 27 (24.1%), Giardia sp 20 (17.9%) and least number was obtained by Blastocystis sp 11 (9.8%). It is concluded that the contamination from municipal sewage, industrial effluent as well as animal and human feces influence the distribution and prevalence of parasitic protozoa in fresh water.

Keywords: Kano, parasite, prevalence, protozoans, river.