Background: Children are susceptible to Intestinal helminthiasis and can develop severe complications such as malnutrition, anaemia, chronic diarrhoea, and impaired cognitive performance, which can limit their potential. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the clinical manifestations and intensities of intestinal helminthic infections among primary school children in Gombe, Nigeria. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study that used a multistage sampling technique to study 350 pupils from 24 primary schools in Gombe, Nigeria, from 4thJuly 2018 to - 31stJanuary 2019. The means and standard deviations of quantitative variables such as age, height, and weight were computed. Stools were examined by the Direct method and Formol ether concentration methods. The prevalence of intestinal helminths, clinical manifestations, types and intensities of helminthic infections were determined, and Chi-square was used to test for the association at 95% confidence intervals. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Data was analysed using SPSS version 24. Results: The prevalence of intestinal helminthic infection was 23.7% (83/350). There was a significant association between intestinal helminths and blood in stools (OR= 15.400, p<0.001), abdominal pain (OR=1.889, p=0.023), pallor (OR=2.146, P = 0.027). More than half of the recorded infections (51.8%) were classified as light. Only, 2.4%, exhibited moderate infections, and there were no recorded cases of severe infection. Conclusions: Intestinal helminthic infection is a public health burden, especially in children. Abdominal pains, blood in stools, poor hand hygiene and pallor were significantly associated with intestinal helminthic infections. However, most of the infestations are of light to moderate intensity. Regular health education and provision of clean water with deworming of school children at intervals are highly recommended.

Background: The public health burden and prevalence of intestinal helminths in Nigeria are increasing, with 45% of school age children being infected annually. Interrogating the burden and associated demographics will aid preventive measures, early diagnosis and prompt treatment. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminthic infections in school children, types and associated sociodemographic characteristics. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study that used multistage sampling technique to obtain a sample of 350 pupils aged 5 to 14 years from 24 primary schools in Gombe LGA of Gombe state from July 2018 to January 2019. Stool samples were examined with Direct and Formol- ether concentration methods. Results: The prevalence of helminthic infection was 23.7%. The proportion of various types of helminths were 26.5%, 24.1%, 21.7%, and 0.6% for A. lumbricoides, Hookworm, H. nana and Trichuris trichuira respectively while multiple infection accounted for 18.1%. Majority (43; 51.8%) of the infections were light infections. Infection in Public schools accounted for 96.4%. There was a significant association between helminthic infection and public school (p<0.001), low Socio-economic class (P= 0.004) and use of insanitary toilets (P = 0.003). Conclusion: Intestinal helminthic infection is a public health problem in primary school children in Gombe, especially in public schools that are attended by students from low social class and whose toilet facilities are in poor states. Regular health education with provision of water closet toilets and de-worming of public primary school children at intervals are recommended to decrease worm burden.