Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthes and its association with water, sanitation, hygiene among schoolchildren and barriers for schools level prevention in technology villages of Hawassa University: Mixed design

Abstract

Background Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) remain one of the most common causes of morbidity among children in Ethiopia. Assessment of the magnitude of STH and its association with water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and identify barriers for school-level prevention assist public health planners to prioritize promotion strategies and is a basic step for intervention. However, there is a lack of evidence on the prevalence of STH and its association with WASH and barriers for school-level prevention among schoolchildren. Objective To assess the prevalence of STH and its association with WASH and identify barriers for school level prevention in technology village of Hawassa University; 2019. Methods An institution-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 1080 schoolchildren from September 5 to October 15, 2019. A two-stage cluster and purposive sampling technique were used to draw the study participants. A pretested, structured questionnaire, observation checklist, and in-depth interview were used to collect the data. Two grams of stool samples were collected from each study participant and examined using direct wet mount and Kato-Katz technique. Data were entered into Epi Info version 7 and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Both bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis method by Atlas-Ti software and presented in narratives.

Prevalence, intensity of infection and associated risk factors of soil-transmitted helminth infections among school children at Tachgayint woreda, Northcentral Ethiopia

“…Almost all positive cases with different species of STH infections were showing the light intensity of infection that is in line with the previous report in the Gurage zone, South Central Ethiopia [35]. But other previous studies showed the occurrences of the moderate and heavy intensity of infection [18,24,29,33] other than light infection intensities; which could be the positive impact to validate for the elimination of STH infection in our country. This result is lower than the WHO elimination target of STHs, which is defined as a < 2% proportion of STH infections of moderate and heavy intensity due to A. lumbricoides, T. trichuria, and hookworm [46].…”

“…These were comparable with the studies conducted in Southwest and Northwest Ethiopia [18,25]. But, the prevalence of A. lumbricoides was higher than the prevalence reported from the study conducted in Hawassa [33], Sekela [12], Ambo town [36], and Gabon (10.4%) [38]. On the contrary, it is lower than that reported from Southern Ethiopia [23,24], Western Rwanda [31], and India [32].…”

“…In addition, the prevalence in our study is significantly lower than the findings of other studies conducted in a different part of Ethiopia with the prevalence ranging from 52.0% -67.9% [23][24][25][26][27][28] and western Kenya (44.05%) [29], Nigeria (44.2%) [30], Western Rwanda (77.7%) [31] and India (54.8%) [32]. On the other hand, the prevalence of STH infections in this study was higher than those of local studies conducted in Ethiopia, such as the prevalence of STH infections among school children of Southern Ethiopia (23.1%) [33], Sekela Primary School (25.78%) [12], Goro Primary School (15.8%) [34], Gurage zone (9.5%) [35], and Ambo town (12.6%) [36]. The differences in the prevalence of STH infections among different studies could be explained by variations in the study period, sample size, geographical location, urbanization, practices of personal hygiene, level of environmental sanitation, and source of drinking water.…”

Personal Hygiene as a Risk Factors of Helminthiasis Among Primary School Students in Asia and Africa: A Literature Review

“…Likewise, a study at State Primary School 5 Delod Peken, Tabanan Regency, Bali Province, Indonesia, shows the most detected agent of the 105 samples of feces include Trichuris trichiura (55%) with 34.3% of children having poor personal hygiene (27). Research conducted in the Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia, successfully identifies characteristics of school children infected with Trichuris trichiura usually include loss of appetite, thin body, anemia, informal education of mother or caregiver, and lack or absence of school-eating program in school (28).…”

“…Open defecated feces will pollute the soil and environment by stools containing worm eggs. Children can become infected because they often ingest worm eggs-contaminated dirt and touch worm eggscontaminated hands (28). Primary school children who practiced open defecation in any place had twice the risk of infection than those who defecated in the family latrine (22).…”