The incidence of urinary tract infection among primary school children of pilot Central Primary School, Bokkos, Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is a serious bacterial infection causing illness in infants and children. The incidence of urinary tract infection among children attending Pilot Central Primary School, Bokkos, Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria was investigated in this study. The study was carried out between the period of September and December 2016 among apparently healthy pupils. One hundred and twenty (120) clean-catch urine samples were obtained from the pupils using standard procedures. Microbial culture on MacConkey agar as a quantitative urine culture was used to reveal 70% of the sample with significant bacterial growth (104-105CFU/ml), interpreted as probable cases of urinary tract infection. Among the identified organisms, Escherichia coli had the highest occurrence (59.2%), followed by Klebsiella sp (17.5%), Staphylococcus species (15.8%), and the lowest Proteus species (7.5%). The incidence of urinary tract infection in females (43%) was higher than in males (26%). Higher incidence was also reported in class 5-6 (31.6%); therefore, the government should put and increase effort toward creating awareness among the people for effective treatment, control, and prevention of urinary tract infections.