Prevalence of Typhoid Fever among Different Socio-demographic Groups in Ondo State, Nigeria

Aim: Study aimed at determining how age, sex, marital status, domestic water source and occupation affect the prevalence of typhoid fever disease in three hospitals in Ondo State, Nigeria.

Study Design: The study adopted a descriptive approach to assess how certain socio-demographic factors could influence typhoid fever distribution amidst representative presumptively diagnosed typhoid fever patients attending the selected hospitals under study.

Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted in three hospitals in Ondo State, between February and May, 2013.

Methodology: Informed consent was sought in clinically suspected cases of typhoid fever and approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Ondo State Ministry of Health and the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. Multiple choice Questionnaires were administered to five hundred and twenty (520) patients who sought medical attention for typhoid fever from the listed hospitals. Analyses of the questionnaires were carried out based on the socio-demographic variables considered in its design.

Results: Highest occurrence of typhoid fever was observed among males of age group 10- 25 years and the least with patients between age group 61 and 80 years in the three hospitals. As for the influence of occupation, male civil servants recorded the highest occurrence in the hospitals while artisans recorded the least. The influence of marital status revealed the highest occurrence in the single males while the married females had the least.

Conclusion: Socio-demographic factors such as age, sex, marital status, source of domestic water supply and occupation influenced the distribution pattern of typhoid fever among the populace in Ondo State.