Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) infections affect more than 2 billion people worldwide, with the greatest indices in sub-Saharan Africa, Americas, China and East-Asia [1] [2] [3] [4] . Four species of worms cause most infection: Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus [5] . These groups of worms are not uncommon in rural developing countries, usually because their transmission cycle requires the existing adequate soil moisture and warm temperature for larval development [6] [7] [8] . Other exacerbating factors that aid the development of their eggs and transmission of infective larva to susceptible hosts include lack of water supply source, sanitation, and poor personal hygiene especially shoe wearing and hand washing [7] [9] .

Preventive chemotherapy (i.e. the periodic large-scale administration of an- thelmintic drugs to at-risk populations without prior diagnosis) has been employed in the control of this disease, but there has been remarkable rise in re- infection patterns after treatment is stopped [10] . Providing access to improved Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) resource has therefore gained traction as the world tries to eliminate the disease by 2020.

WASH resources programming includes providing access to safe water, improved sanitation and good hygiene practices and education. Implementation of WASH continues to gain momentum with increased commitment from governmental and non-governmental donors through the provision of funds and resources [11] . For instance, Nigeria has benefited substantially from UNICEF’s assisted WASH resources either community-based or school-based due to poor safe water and sanitation coverage rates in the country [11] . There is a standing belief that access to improved WASH resources coupled with preventive chemotherapy would have a long-term educational impact on the development and transmission of STH in endemic areas [12] .

Although, the findings of Ekpo et al. (2008) in Ogun State, Nigeria have highlighted the relationship between helminthiasis and hygiene practices in school children [13] . There is an urgent need to provide evidence, if any, on the impact of current provision of community-based WASH resources on the transmission and control of STHs.

This study presents for the first time the conditions and status of UNICEF supported community-based WASH resources, and its possible impact on the transmission and control of STH infections in the study area. An overall prevalence of 35.2%was recorded for any STH infection. This prevalence is higher than that reported for Ile-ife, Osun State [15] , and reflects the worrisome burden of STH in the communities surveyed. This observation calls for mass administration of albendazole by WHO prevalence cut-off recommendations [16] . Non-school aged population should not be excluded from any treatment activity, as neglecting them can be a source for community re-infection especially in the case of Hookworm infection [17] .

Unexpectedly, higher prevalence and intensities of STH were recorded in Category A communities (benefitting from a fully implemented WASH programme), and this issues a call of concern. It is expected that areas benefitting from WASH resource programming should have lower prevalence and intensity, in comparison with areas where intervention is either not on-going or partly implemented. However, our results show provision of WASH resources in these communities may have minimal impact on STH transmission.

There are several explanations to this. First, programming for WASH improvement in low- and middle-income countries is aimed at increasing equitable access to clean water, adequate sanitation, especially at the unit of the household, and improved hygiene education to people living in poor rural and deprived urban settings [11] . In actual terms, WASH programming have not been directed towards STH prevention or control, although there is a secondary influence of WASH resources on STH [18] . It is, therefore, understandable that implementation of this programme in Aiyedade LGA might be sub-optimal to trigger reduction of STH infection. This study did not conduct an in-depth evaluation survey for the WASH intervention in the areas visited. This is a research gap. There is need to understand further the thresholds that exist for each WASH resource component to trigger STH prevention or control.

On a second note, higher prevalence and intensities of STH in Category A communities may be an indication that the hygiene component of WASH resources has not resulted in any significant hygiene behaviour that could help reduce transmission of STH infection. This is more so as community members’ knowledge of STH transmission was very low in these communities. Hygiene education if properly embraced by community members could help in reducing helminth infection by creating an enabling environment for both effective chemotherapy and sanitation efforts [19] [20] , but non-compliance to the dictates of an hygiene education would cause continuous re-infection [20] . This observation, therefore, call into question the effeciveness of behavioural change promotional activities implemented in Category A communities, and if they were targeted at breaking STH transmission cycle?

It is also important to take into consideration that there was no support for provision of improved sanitation facilities in the study area. Providing toilet infrastructure would require huge cost and community involvements. However, in place of providing toilet infrastructure, communities are usually being encouraged during community planning meetings to mobilize local resources in the construction of latrines that would prevent direct exposure to faecal materials. Since there is no support for toilet resource, community member usually defecates in open grounds or nearby bushes [21] . This observation might be a probable reason for the continued contamination of soil, thus promoting STH reinfection, even when water resource and hygiene education programmes are in place.

Other reasons for the disparities in prevalence between both categories of communities could be related to educational attainment status, standard of personal and environmental hygiene and probably social habits [22] . Our findings shows that knowledge, attitude, and practices associated with STH transmission between communities with full and part implementation of WASH intervention was poor. Although members of communities with full implementation recorded higher knowledge, attitude, and practices as compared with communities with part implementation, nevertheless it was still poor. These overall poor knowledge, attitude and practices have been implicated as factors that promotes contamination of soil with eggs and as well transmission of infective stages of the nematodes to humans [23] . There is need to reemphasize on strategies of harmonizing health-educational tools given improving hygienic behaviours and attitudes of people living in areas where STH are endemic [10] [24] .

Our study demonstrates that current strategy of UNICEF supported WASH programming focusing on equity and coverage may not necessarily compliment STH transmission control in benefiting STH endemic communities unless WASH providers review this strategy. However, this will require synergies between WASH providers and STH disease control managers in the planning and implementation of WASH resources in STH endemic communities.

Fafunwa, T.S., Mogaji, H.O., Oluwole, A.S., Adeniran, A.A., Fagbenro, M.T., Sam-Wobo, S.O., Bada, B.S. and Ekpo, U.F. (2017) Water Resource, Hygienic Practice, and Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis in Some Rural Communities of Osun State, Nigeria. Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 9, 99-110. https://doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2017.92008