Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infestation among Public School Children of a Community

Abstract

Introduction: Intestinal parasitic infestation is one of the major health problems in developingcountries like Nepal. This study was done to determine the prevalence rate of intestinal parasiticinfestation among school children in Duwakot VDC, Bhaktapur, Nepal.
 Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in 194 public school children of Duwakotvillage development committee from August to October, 2019. Ethical clearance was obtained fromthe Institutional Review Committee (reference no. 1207201915). Simple random sampling was done.One hundred and ninety-four public school children individuals of 6 to 14 years of age were enrolled.Collected stools were examined for the presence of parasites macroscopically and microscopically.Microscopic examination was carried out by direct wet mount using normal saline (0.9%) and Lugol’siodine (0.5%) mount. The data obtained were computed and analyzed using Statistical Package forthe Social Sciences version 16.0.
 Results: A total of 194 stool samples were collected from school children and examined. Theprevalence of intestinal parasitosis was 26 (13.40%). The commonest organism was Giardia lambliain 22 (11.34%) cases. Among helminthic infection, 2 (1.03%) cases each were infected by Hymenolepisnana and Hookworm respectively.
 Conclusions: The prevalence rate of intestinal parasite infestation in Nepal shows considerabledecline in recent years. However, more effort is required by public health resources to minimize theproblem further.

Intestinal Parasitic Infections and Associated Risk Factors Among School-going Children of Age 1-5 years in Dharan, Eastern Nepal

“…In contrast, different study reports of Dharan, Nepal had shown 40% (Poudyal et al, 2017) and 11.5% (Gyawali et al, 2010) prevalence of G. lamblia which is dissimilar with our findings. In Kathmandu, the overall prevalence of Hookworm was found to be 23.7% (Sharma et al, 2004) which agreed with our…”

“…In this study, male participants were found to be more likely to be infected with parasites with a 9.37% (6/64) prevalence than the female with a 5.76% (3/52) prevalence but the difference was not significant (p=0.47). The finding was consistent with the other studies in Dharan (Gyawali et al, 2010) and Kathmandu (Sharma et al, 2004), however, incompatible with previous studies done in Dhankuta (Shakya, 2003) and Itahari (Sah, Bhattarai, et al, 2013). It reflects that gender may not play the role in IPIs but may depend on sanitation conditions and hygiene practices.…”

“…The prevalence of IPIs reaches nearly 100% in some tropical areas of the world (Sharma et al, 2004). Ascaris lumbricoides, Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Trichuris trichiura, Hymenolepis nana, Entamoeba coli, and Hookworms are the most dominant intestinal parasites worldwide (Ashok et al, 2013).…”

Prevalencia de parasitosis intestinal en la población infantil de una zona rural del Ecuador

“…El microorganismo más frecuente fue Giardia lamblia en 22 casos (11,34%), las infecciones helmínticas fueron 2 casos (1,03%), ocasionadas por Hymenolepis nana y Hookworm, respectivamente. Este estudio fue realizado en Nepal en donde se ha observado un descenso considerable de parasitismo infantil en los últimos años (Sharma et al, 2020), difiriendo por completo con los resultados descritos en esta investigación. En Ecuador no se ha observado un decrecimiento de la prevalencia parasitaria, por lo cual, se sugiere prestar mayor atención a este problema de salud pública, sobretodo por los entes de control y salud pública.…”

“…Los síntomas producidos por la parasitosis sobre el hospedero van de leves a graves, entre ellos destacan color de piel pálido, dolor abdominal, diarrea, retraso en el crecimiento y hemorragia digestiva; afectando notablemente la calidad de vida de los niños (Jerez-Puebla et al, 2020;Palacios, 2017;Sharma et al, 2020;Vidal-Anzardo et al, 2020). Cuando ocurren de forma masiva, incrementan de forma considerable el riesgo de muerte.…”