Soil-transmitted helminth infections in Nigerian children aged 0–25 months

Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) in children aged 0-25 months and to identify the associated risk factors for Ascaris lumbricoides infections. The study was conducted in three villages outside Ile-Ife, Osun state, Nigeria in May/June 2005. Stool samples (369) were processed by formol-ether concentration. Ascaris lumbricoides (12.2%) was the dominant infection. Age, father's occupation and dog ownership were identified as the significant risk factors in the minimal adequate model for A. lumbricoides. The odds of being infected with A. lumbricoides increased as the children got older. Children aged 12-17 months and 18-25 months were 8.8 and 12.4 times, respectively, more likely to harbour Ascaris than those aged 7-11 months. The odds of harbouring Ascaris for children whose families owned a dog were 3.5 times that of children whose families did not own a dog. Children whose fathers were businessmen were 0.4 times less likely to be infected with Ascaris than those whose fathers were farmers. The findings from this study suggest that many of these young children, who are at a critical stage of development, are infected with Ascaris and that the prevalence of infection with this parasite increases with age. This study has highlighted the need to incorporate preschool children into deworming programmes in endemic regions and to investigate innovative ways of delivering cost-effective deworming treatment to this high-risk age group.

Prevalence of Intestinal Helminths Infestation in Children Attending Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital in Accra, Ghana

“…Also a prevalence of 40.5% and 40.7% among preschool age children and school age children, respectively, was reported in Kenya [10]. However, the prevalence of helminth infestation in the current study was relatively higher than other studies conducted in children in the Ashanti region (11.1%) of Ghana [11] and in Osun State in Nigeria (12.2%) [12]. The difference in prevalence could be attributed to timing of the study, sampling of study participants, seasonal differences in conducting the study, environmental conditions, and other geographical factors in these study areas.…”

Malnutrition and the presence of intestinal parasites in children from the poorest municipalities of Mexico

“…School-age children (2 to 5 years) had a higher prevalence of parasites compared to breast-fed infants (Table 3). Similarly, a study in Nigeria showed that children from 1 to 2.1 years had a higher risk of becoming infected with A. lumbricoides compared to children between 7 to 11 months old [26]. This may be due to the fact that school-age children tend to be more active, interact more with the environment by putting objects to their mouth with dirty hands (geophagy), and rarely adopt hygienic habits [2].…”

Effects of Annual Mass Treatment with Ivermectin for Onchocerciasis on the Prevalence of Intestinal Helminths

“…Although school-aged children typically have a higher worm burden than preschool-aged children, PACs are still at risk for infection, as shown in our study and others. 3,[34][35][36] Very few studies have been done looking at the negative effects on growth and development in the PAC age group. However, given the rapid rate of development it is conceivable that infections in this age may be more deleterious to subsequent growth and cognitive development than infections suffered in later childhood.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] They are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, causing an estimated loss of 39 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs). 5 This disability burden is greater than that due to malaria (35.7 million DALYs), 5 yet in comparison, STH are among the most neglected of the "neglected tropical diseases."…”