Parasitic infestations in houseflies and soils collected from garbage dumps in parts of Ijebu-North, Ogun State Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Open defecation and indiscriminate disposal of waste is a common practice and has been highlighted as a risk factor promoting transmission of gastrointestinal parasiteshence, we investigated the prevalence of parasites in Houseflies (Musca domestica) and soil samples from garbage dumps in Ijebu-North, Ogun State, Nigeria, where such data is non-existent. Flies were collected using baited traps and approximately 100g of surface soil were collected from the garbage dumps in the study area. Standard flotation and sedimentation techniques were used to process collected soil samples, including external and internal contents from Musca domestica (M. domestica). Isolated parasites were identified under a binocular microscope. Our findings showed that all the houseflies examined were infested with at least one kind of parasite on either external or internal surfaces. A total of 328 (78.8%) of the flies were infested with Taenia sp., followed by 296 (74.0%) for Ascaris lumbricoides, 200 (48.1%) for hookworms, and the least was 64 (15.6%) for Toxocara canis. There were significant differences in the proportions observed across the different garbage dumps in the study area for Hookworm (p=0.048), Fasciola sp. (p=0.002) and Toxocara canis (p=0.033). On their internal surfaces by location, Oru had the highestprevalence for all the parasites except for Hookworms, Toxocara canis, Strongyloides stercoralis and Trichuris trichuria.Significant differences were observed across the garbage dumps in the study area and Hookworm (p = 0.015) and Strongyloides stercolaris (p = 0.014). Similarly, at least one kind of parasite was recovered from all the 32 soil samples examined, with Taenia sp. (90.0%), Ascaris lumbricoides. (83.3%) and Hookworms (60.0%) been the most common parasites. This study highlights animportant issue of gross environmental contamination with parasite eggs/larvae across garbage dumps which requires prompt clearing of garbage dumps and proper sanitization to prevent disease epidemics.