Campylobacter jejuni in duck faeces around drinking water sources in Makurdi, North-Central Nigeria: public health implication.

Faeces from 192 ducks feeding around 10 wells and 6 ponds in peri-urban areas of Makurdi town, North-Central Nigeria were randomly sampled during the dry season period of October, 2006 to March, 2007. The samples were cultured for Campylobacter jejuni , followed by characterisation of positive samples. The overall prevalence was 63.5%. Prevalence rates were very high, 61.7% and 66.7% for faeces obtained from the ducks around wells and ponds respectively. The prevalence rate was highest in the month of February, where 80.0% and 83.3% of the faecal samples were positive for wells and ponds, respectively; prevalence rates were lowest (40.0%) in the month of October for wells and 50% for ponds in March. Campylobacter jejuni infection in ducks was highly associated (P = 0.36) with diarrhoea as Campylobacter was isolated from 76.7% of cases with diarrhoea. Water samples from 66.7% of the wells and 83.3% of the ponds were also Campylobacter -positive. The presence of this pathogen in duck faeces and sources of drinking water pose a very serious public health problem. There is therefore a need to intensify public health education and protect the wells and ponds against contamination and pollution.