Speaker
Description
Authors: Oluwafemi Samson OLAGBAMI, Emmanuel Afolabi BAKARE
Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) is major public health challenge in many region of Nigeria, particularly Ogun State. Environmental and climatic factors such as temperature, rainfall and soil pH have been identified to influence the transmission of infectious diseases which include neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These factors affects the survival, and development of helminths egg/larvae as well as human exposure to these parasites. Understanding the role of such factors is crucial for optimizing control and prevention strategies for STH. The study aims to investigate the effects of environmental and climatic factors on the transmission of STH in Ogun State, Nigeria. The objective is to assess the relationship between STH prevalence and key environmental and climatic variables such as day and night land surface temperature, rainfall and soil pH. Cross-sectional study was carried out in Ogun State between 2016 to 2018, encompassing variables on STH prevalence and intensity, temperature (both night and day), rainfall, and soil pH. Multivariate regression and Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were employed to evaluate these relationships. Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) analysis was used to check for multicollinearity among the predictor variables. The multivariate regression model produced a low adjusted R-squared value (0.035), indicating that the environmental factors explained only a small proportion of the variation in STH prevalence. The F-statistic (1.29) suggested weak explanatory power of the model. Similar results were obtained from the GLM analysis, showing limited effects of environmental factors on STH transmission. The VIF analysis indicated no significant multicollinearity among the predictors. Although environmental factors, such as temperature, rainfall, and soil pH, influence STH transmission, their contribution to explaining the variation in prevalence was minimal. Future studies should incorporate additional socio-economic and behavioral factors to enhance understanding of STH dynamics in Ogun State.
