Soil-transmitted Helminth Contamination Around Sanitation Facilities in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: The Role of Latrine Type, Soil characteristic, and community Knowledge

Soil-transmitted Helminth Contamination Around Sanitation Facilities in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: The Role of Latrine Type, Soil characteristic, and community Knowledge | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Soil-transmitted Helminth Contamination Around Sanitation Facilities in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: The Role of Latrine Type, Soil characteristic, and community Knowledge SALIU ADEREMI BENJAMEN, I. E. Ofoezie This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9681418/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Abstract Background: Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) remain a major public health challenge in low-resource settings, where inadequate sanitation facilities environmental contaminated. This study assessed the association between latrine types, soil characteristics, and community knowledge with the distribution and intensity of geo-helminth eggs in surrounding soils in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across 200 random selected households in four waards in Ile-Ife. A structured questionnaires was administered to household heads to collect data on demographics, sanitation practices, and knowledge of STH. Soil samples were collected within 100 m radius of each toilet. Samples were analyzed for Helminth egg presence and intensity using sucrose flotation technique, and for soil particle size using the hydrometer method. Statistical analysis included chi-square tests, ANOVA, and regression analysis. Results: A total of 157 (78.5%) soil samples were contaminated with at least one Helminth species. Ascaris lumbricoides (64.2%) and hookworm (20.8%) were the most abundant and prevalent species. Pit latrines (47% of facilities) had the highest mean egg count (16.59 ± 31.96 eggs/g), while pour flush latrines had the lowest (12.75 ± 18.93 eggs/g), though this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Sandy soils had the highest mean egg count (20.76 ± 41.91 eggs/g), which was significantly difference from other soil types (p<0.05). While 90.5% of respondents had heard of intestinal parasites, significant knowledge gaps remained regarding transmission and prevention. Regression analysis showed no significant effects of human knowledge on soil contamination levels. Conclusion: The high rate of soil contamination with STH eggs, regardless of latrine type, points to widespread environmental fecal contamination in the study area. This is driven by a combination of inadequate sanitation infrastructure improvements with sustained health education are required to break the transmission cycle. Infectious Diseases Parasitology Epidemiology Soil STHs Toilet Perception Ile-Ife Environmental Health Latrines STH disease Figures Figure 1 Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files Akarabata.xlsx Generalloamy.xlsx IlarewardI.xlsx IlarewardII.xlsx IremoI.xlsx pHandtotalintensity.xlsx Ph.docx Pitintensity.xlsx Pourflushintensity.xlsx STHs.xlsx WCintensity.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbstract\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground: \u003c/strong\u003eSoil-transmitted helminths (STH) remain a major public health challenge in low-resource settings, where inadequate sanitation facilities environmental contaminated. This study assessed the association between latrine types, soil characteristics, and community knowledge with the distribution and intensity of geo-helminth eggs in surrounding soils in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods: \u003c/strong\u003eA cross-sectional study was conducted across 200 random selected households in four waards in Ile-Ife. A structured questionnaires was administered to household heads to collect data on demographics, sanitation practices, and knowledge of STH. Soil samples were collected within 100 m radius of each toilet. Samples were analyzed for Helminth egg presence and intensity using sucrose flotation technique, and for soil particle size using the hydrometer method. Statistical analysis included chi-square tests, ANOVA, and regression analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults: \u003c/strong\u003eA total of 157 (78.5%) soil samples were contaminated with at least one Helminth species. \u003cem\u003eAscaris lumbricoides \u003c/em\u003e(64.2%) and \u003cem\u003ehookworm \u003c/em\u003e(20.8%) were the most abundant and prevalent species. Pit latrines (47% of facilities) had the highest mean egg count (16.59 ± 31.96 eggs/g), while pour flush latrines had the lowest (12.75 ± 18.93 eggs/g), though this difference was not statistically significant (p\u0026gt;0.05). Sandy soils had the highest mean egg count (20.76 ± 41.91 eggs/g), which was significantly difference from other soil types (p\u0026lt;0.05). While 90.5% of respondents had heard of intestinal parasites, significant knowledge gaps remained regarding transmission and prevention. Regression analysis showed no significant effects of human knowledge on soil contamination levels.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion: \u003c/strong\u003eThe high rate of soil contamination with STH eggs, regardless of latrine type, points to widespread environmental fecal contamination in the study area. This is driven by a combination of inadequate sanitation infrastructure improvements with sustained health education are required to break the transmission cycle.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Soil-transmitted Helminth Contamination Around Sanitation Facilities in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: The Role of Latrine Type, Soil characteristic, and community Knowledge","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-12 15:00:58","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9681418/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"85b587d0-d1a6-4aab-87e6-157cd6297838","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 12th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":67945420,"name":"Infectious Diseases"},{"id":67945421,"name":"Parasitology"},{"id":67945422,"name":"Epidemiology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-12T15:00:58+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-12 15:00:58","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9681418","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9681418","identity":"rs-9681418","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}