European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

DOMESTIC COCKROACHES AS CARRIERS OF HUMAN INTESTINAL PARASITES AND BACTERIAL PATHOGENS IN ILIE, SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA

Muoneke Peter Declan, Sanusi Tawakalit Omotayo and Adefioye Olusegun Adelowo*

ABSTRACT

Cockroaches are insects of antiquity with great medical and public health importance and have been recognized as mechanical transmitter of pathogens to humans. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and bacterial pathogens found in cockroaches in Ilie community, Nigeria. One hundred and seventy two cockroaches (172) were randomly collected by balloting from 37 selected houses in the study area. From this study, five intestinal parasites and six bacterial isolates were detected from the external surface and gut of the cockroaches. The parasites were Ascarislumbricoides, Entamoebahistolytica, Strongyloidesstercoralis, Hookworm and Giardialamblia, while the bacterial isolates were Bacillus spp., Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiellapneumoniae. The overall prevalence for intestinal parasites was 69.2% while that of bacteria was 91.9%. For intestinal parasites, Ascarislumbricoides (43.0%) had the highest frequency, followed by Entamoebahistolytica (14.5%) and the least was Giardialamblia (1.2%), while the highest frequency for bacterial isolate was Staphylococcus aureus (40.1%) and the least was Bacillus spp. (5.8%). Bacterial Pathogens and intestinal parasites were more recorded on the external surface than in the gut of the cockroaches. This finding revealed that cockroaches are very important in transmission of some intestinal parasites and bacterial pathogens, therefore, personal hygiene, health education and effective control methods should put place in order to eliminate and minimize the menace of cockroaches in the community.

Keywords: Cockroaches, intestinal, parasites, bacterial, pathogens.