A study of prevalence of intestinal parasites and associated risk factors among the school children of Itahari, Eastern Region of Nepal

Abstract

Introduction:Intestinal parasitic infestation is a major public health problem in children of developing countries Because of poor socio-economic conditions and lack of good hygienic living. The aims of this study were to measure the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestations and to identify risk factors associated with parasitic infestations among the school children of Itahari Municipality.Materials and Methods:The cross-sectional study was conducted in Grade VI, VII and VIII in Government and private schools of Itahari Municipality. Stratified random sampling method was applied to choose the schools and the study subjects. Semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the study subjects and microscopic examination of stool was done. The Chi-square test was used to measure the association of risk factors and parasitic infestation.Results:Overall intestinal parasitic infestation was found to be 31.5%. Around 13% of the study population was found to be infested with helminthes and 18.5% of the study population was protozoa infected. Not using soap after defecation, not wearing sandals, habit of nail biting and thumb sucking were found to be significantly associated with parasitic infection.Conclusions:The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation was found to be high in school children of Itahari. Poor sanitary condition, lack of clean drinking water supply and education is supposed to play an important role in establishing intestinal parasitic infections.

Prevalence of parasitic Infections and its Effect on the Health Status of Primary School Children

“…This is in the line withSaka et al, (2014) (55) , andHaftu et al, (2014) (33) . On the other hand Al-Mohammed et al, (2010) (56) , and Sah et al, (2013) (57) found that hand washing after defecation was significantly associated with the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection. The present study revealed that, about three quarter of infected students by parasites and slightly less than one quarter of non-infected students by parasites respectively, had moderate anemia and more than half of non-infected students by parasites and about (15.7%) of infected students had mild anemia ( figure 3).…”

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections in St. Marry Hospital, Axum, Northern Ethiopia: A Retrospective Study

“…Studies from different part of Ethiopia [2,5,[9][10][11][12] and outside Ethiopia [4,7] reported a prevalence of 22.7-79.8%. There was higher prevalence in this study compared to studies conducted in India and Nepal [4,7]. This might indicate better personal and environmental sanitation practice in the study area of those countries.…”

“…Globally two billion individuals were infected with intestinal parasites; of these majorities were children in resourcelimited areas [2,3]. World Health Organization estimated 800-1000 million cases of Ascariasis, 700-900 million of Hookworm infection, 500 millions of Trichuriasis, 200 million of Giardiasis and 500 million of Entamoeba histolytica worldwide [4]. In sub-Saharan African countries, up to 250 million people are infected with at least one intestinal nematodes [5].…”

Prevalence and risk factors associated with intestinal parasitic infestations in the rural pediatric population of Piparia, Gujarat - A hospital-based study

“…[3] The WHO estimated that globally, there are 800-1000 million cases of ascariasis, 700-900 million of hookworm infection, 500 millions of trichuriasis, 200 million of giardiasis, and 500 million of amoebiasis. [4] Intestinal helminths infestations are the most common infestations among school-age children and they tend to occur in high intensity in this age group and lead to nutritional deficiency, including iron deficiency anemia, seizures, portal hypertension, chronic diarrhea, and impaired physical development in children which will have negative consequences on cognitive function and learning ability. [5,6] The lack of access to clean water, improved sanitation and adequate hygiene (WASH), low socioeconomic status, illiteracy, hot and humid tropical climate, and inadequate medical care largely attributes to the burden of these neglected tropical diseases.…”