Abstract

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most frequently encountered problems facing the family physician. This work was aimed at determining the prevalence of UTI among pregnant women who go for antenatal at General Hospital Gashua, Yobe State, Nigeria. Urine culture was performed to isolate and identify the organisms present on Cysteine-Lactose Deficient and MacConkey Agar after which biochemical tests were carried out. A total of 145 pregnant women were admitted for the study out of which 101 (69.6%) were positive for UTI and 44 (30.4%) negative. Women of 26-30 years age group had the highest prevalence of 38.6%, women with informal education had the highest prevalence of 55.4%. Based on the occupation, housewives had the highest prevalence of 79.2% and women in their third trimester of pregnancy had prevalence of 50.5%. Five organisms were isolated (E. coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Proteus, and Staphylocuccus aureus of which E. coli had the highest prevalence of 39.6%. The result suggest that there is high prevalence of UTI among pregnant women in the study area due to exposure of causative organisms. Early diagnosis and treatment of UTI during pregnancy can ensure the safety of mother, fetus and prevent complications during delivery.