Prevalence, Intensity, and Correlates of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections among School Children after a Decade of Preventive Chemotherapy in Western Rwanda

Abstract

Preventive chemotherapy (PC) is a WHO-recommended core intervention measures to eliminate Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) as a public health problem by 2020, defined as a reduction in prevalence to <1% of moderate or high-intensity infection. We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence, intensity, and correlates of STH after a decade of PC in Rwanda. A total of 4998 school children (5–15 years old) from four districts along Lake Kivu in the western province were screened for STH using Kato-Katz. The overall prevalence of Soil-transmitted helminths among school children was 77.7% (range between districts = 54% to 92%). Trichirus trichiura was the most common STH (66.8%, range between districts = 23% to 88.2%), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (49.9%, range between district = 28.5% to 63.3%) and hookworms (1.9%, range between districts = 0.6% to 2.9%). The prevalence of single, double and of triple parasite coinfection were 48.6%, 50.3%, and 1.1%, respectively. The overall prevalence of moderate or high-intensity infection for Trichirus trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides was 7.1% and 13.9, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression model revealed that male sex, district, stunting, and schistosomiasis coinfection as significant predictors of STH infection. Despite a decade of PC implementation, STH remain a significant public health problem in Rwanda.

Soil Transmitted Helminths and Plasmodium falciparum Co-infections among School Children in Bugesera District, Rwanda: Implications for National Control Programs

“…This is evidence of the positive impact and enforcement of the control programs in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. This reduction, though, is contrary to a recent report from the Western Province of Rwanda where the prevalence of the STH was respectively higher [14].…”

“…Helminth and Plasmodium infections are known to proliferate in the favorable -climatic tropical conditions and significantly, among the endemic poorest communities [3,4]. STH and Plasmodium falciparum coinfection -ubiquity has been long reported but with conflicting results of both the prevalence and clinical outcomes [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. In as much, these coinfections have not been uncommon in school children including those in East African and Ethiopia, though, consistent with varying consequences [20,21].…”

Longitudinal assessment of the exposure to Ascaris lumbricoides through copromicroscopy and serology in school children from Jimma Town, Ethiopia

“…At the start of this study, more than 40% of the children (age 4-6 years of age) were excreting the eggs of any STH, highlighting that children are already exposed to STH infections at an early age. These findings are in line with other studies reporting high STH prevalence in these age groups [18,[23][24][25] and underscore the need to continue supporting efforts to include preschool aged children in national deworming programs. According to the PC coverage report of WHO, Ethiopia reached 66.9% of the pre-school aged children at risk of the STH-attributable morbidity [26].…”

Análise do conhecimento de docentes na prevenção de helmintíases em escolas públicas rurais/florestais do Acre, Brasil

“…Crianças, principalmente em idade escolar, são mais suscetíveis a infecções intestinais por possuírem o sistema imunológico ainda pouco estimulado e baixa preocupação com hábitos de higiene, facilitando o desenvolvimento de helmintíases que em sua grande maioria são transmitidas por via fecal-oral ou penetração cutânea, gerando déficits nutricionais e queda no rendimento escolar (KABATENDE et al, 2020;MARQUES et al, 2020). Como método de controle, prevenção e eliminação das helmintíases, a OMS preconiza: a desparasitação preventiva de crianças em idade escolar e grupos de risco por meio da administração em massa de quimioterápicos anti-helmínticos, o fornecimento de água tratada e a educação em saúde (WHO, 2020a).…”