Soil-transmitted helminth infections and risk factors in preschool children in southern rural Lao People's Democratic Republic

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe current widespread school-based control of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections is also advocated for preschool children. The objective of this study was to assess infection with STHs as well as their determinants in preschool children (<60 months) in southern rural Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). A cluster survey was carried out from October to December 2006 in three districts of Savannakhet Province. The prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm and Trichuris trichiura was 27.4% (95% CI 27.0-27.6%), 10.9% (95% CI 10.7-11.0%) and 10.9% (95% CI 10.7-11.1%), respectively. Of the children studied, 28.4% had a monoparasitic infection and 9.3% had a polyparasitic infection. Older children had a higher risk for hookworm infection [odds ratio (OR) = 1.75, 95% CI 1.03-3.01; P = 0.041] and multiple infections (OR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.01-3.20; P = 0.044). Low socioeconomic status was associated with A. lumbricoides (OR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.38-0.98; P = 0.043) and monoparasitic infections (OR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.38-0.99; P = 0.049). In Lao PDR, deworming of preschool children is warranted. Preventive measures should address important risk factors. Health education regarding personal hygiene, appropriate water management and the construction and proper use of latrines are additional essential elements.

Intestinal polyparasitism with special emphasis to soil-transmitted helminths among residents around Gilgel Gibe Dam, Southwest Ethiopia: a community based survey

“…It confirms the hypothesis that the probability of acquiring hookworm infection increases with age as the activity outside the household increases with age. This is consistent with the findings reported from elsewhere [25, 27]. …”

“…In addition to the limitation of those diagnostic methods, considering other confounding factors like day-to-day variation in eggs or cysts output of some of the parasites, the ‘true prevalence’ of polyparasitism is likely higher than what is reported. Moreover, our finding is in agreement with the finding of similar previous works [12, 19, 25, 28–30] where polyparasitism is commonly reported, although the reported prevalence varies considerably from place to place being either higher or lower than what we have reported here. In general, this variation could be attributed to different factors such as ecological and geographical location, climate and nature of soil, the segments of the populations studied, the diagnostic methods employed and other related socio-demographic and socio-economic factors.…”

“…This is similar to what was reported from elsewhere [25]. The predominant parasite infection found in this study was hookworm (44.1%).…”

Anemia and Related Factors in Preschool Children in the Southern Rural Lao People’s Democratic Republic

“…It is noted that the lack of significant effects of the deworming treatment might be caused by the low prevalence of hookworm infection among the preschool children. Indeed, in a recent study conducted on preschool children in neighboring districts such as Sepol, Nong, and Vilabury in Savannakheth province, a lower prevalence of hookworm infections (10.9%) was identified and no heavy infection intensities were recorded [37]. …”

Low Efficacy of Single-Dose Albendazole and Mebendazole against Hookworm and Effect on Concomitant Helminth Infection in Lao PDR

“…Mebendazole (single 500 mg oral dose) is annually distributed to all school-aged children since 2005 [12]. Recent efforts have been made to provide mebendazole also to preschool-aged children through the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) and alongside vitamin A distribution campaigns [4], [13]. However, the efficacy of mebendazole and albendazole against STH infections in Lao PDR remains to be determined, and such locally derived evidence is important to guide the national treatment policy.…”