Vol. 15 No. 116 - 123 (2024): Distribution and diversity indices of principal vectors (Bulinus Spp) of Schistosomiasis at Farms in Doko Community, Lavun, Niger State

Distribution and diversity indices of principal vectors (Bulinus spp) of Schistosomiasis at
farms in Doko community, Lavun, Niger State was investigated in the year 2023.
Schistosomiasis is human infectious disease which results from penetration of the cercariae
of Schistosoma spp. through the skin. Farmers Survey as a first step measure was conducted
at the locality, farm type, abundance was observed from their farms, there was limited faring
activity within the sampling period. Aestivating snail samples were collected from soil
samples by excavating the soil at a shallow depth of 3cm (30 x 30cm), at three randomly
selected points, in each sampling site, more so, hand picking of available surface snails was
done simultaneously at three randomly selected points, in each sampling site. Through the
survey, it was established that, snail abundance was more at rice field farm, vegetable farms
and others respectively, with ability of aestivating during early dry season. Results revealed
significant variation in conductivity and water hardness, with rice farm water recording
significantly higher conductivity and hardness (290±22.46 μS/cm and 58.33±1.29 mg/ml)
respectively. Evenness diversity indices revealed that snail in vegetable farms had the
rearrests species distribution followed by others and Rice farm had the highest with the
following evenness index value of 0.9259, 0.9165 and 0.8231 respectively. More so, Eigen
value also revealed 82.95 and 17.05 % influence of environmental factors on the distribution
of the snails in the selected farms. Conclusively the study revealed a strong association of
availability of potential snail vector of schistosomiasis at various farms studied, which could
serve as a serious public health treat to the control of Schistosomiasis in the locality.