PREVALENCE OF URINARY TRACT INFECTION AMONGST STUDENTS OF ABIA STATE POLYTECHNIC, ABA.

Urinary tract infection is one of the most common problems encountered in general medical practice. It is among the common reasons for seeking medical attention in a community. It needs proper management to prevent both morbidity and mortality events. The prevalence of urinary tract infection was investigated among Abia State Polytechnic students in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria. Early midstream urine samples were collected from one hundred (100) students, comprising fifty (50) males and fifty (50) females. The samples were cultured on MacConkey agar at 37oC for 24 hours. Investigation shows that 27% of the sample had significant bacteriuria and 11% had non-significant bacteriuria, while 62% showed no growth. The isolates were identified using standard bacteriological methods as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis. Of all the bacterial isolates, Escherichia coli was found to be the most commonly isolated (48.2%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (25.9%), Klebsiella species (14.8%), and Enterococcus faecalis (11.1%). The highest infection was among the age group 21-25 years (48.2%) followed by the age group 18-20 years (33.3%), 26-30 years (14.8%), and the least was among the age group 31-35 years (3.7%). Females (77.8%) were more infected than males (22.2%), and singles (66.7%) were also more infected than married (33.3%). There was a significant difference between age group, sex, marital status, and urinary tract infection (p