Background Schistosomiasis remains one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases, especially in Nigeria which has the greatest number of infected people worldwide. School-aged children are the most vulnerable, as they participate in water contact activities that expose them to free-swimming cercariae released by infected snail species in freshwater; hence most studies target this age group. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 466 participants from two communities in South-west Nigeria to investigate the risk factors associated with high prevalence of the two human schistosome infection.

Methods Urine and stool samples were collected from consenting school children in Ilie and Ore communities of Osun State, Nigeria. Schistosoma haematobium eggs were detected in the urine using the urine filtration technique, while S. mansoni eggs were detected in stool using the Kato-Katz thick smear technique.

Results The overall prevalence of schistosomiasis was 40% (185/466), with 31% and 10% infected with S. haematobium and S. mansoni, respectively. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that water contact activities i.e washing and fishing (X2 =7.52; p< 0.06; X2 =19.54, p =0.000) knowledge of schistosomiasis (X2 =12.7; p= 0.00) blood in the urine (X2 =37.8; p< 0.00) were the significant risk factors associated with schistosomiasis in these communities.

Conclusion This study revealed that schistosomiasis is still prevalent in endemic communities of southern Nigeria. Factors predicting schistosomiasis were related to water contact activities (fishing and washing) knowledge of schistosomiasis, previous infection, and blood in the urine. These findings highlight the need for mass drug administration, health education, and community mobilization to significantly reduce the prevalence and morbidity of schistosomiasis in these communities.

Funding source: This work does not receive any funding