Hemoglobin concentration of intestinal parasites infested children in Okada, Edo state, Nigeria

Abstract

Anemia in children is defined by the World Health Organization as a hemoglobin concentration below 11 g/dl for children (0.5-5.0 yrs) and 12 g/dl for teens (12-15 yrs). 4 ml of venous blood sample was collected in EDTA container. Of the total of three hundred and thirty four (334) subjects, one hundred and fifty two (152) were Females and one hundred and eighty two (182) were Males. Intestinal parasite assessment was done by Direct Smear technique and Formol-Ether concentration methods. Hemoglobin concentration was analyzed using Cyanmethaemoglobin method. Thirty (30) subjects were infested with Ascaris lumbricoides (single infestation), Ninety Five (95) subjects were infested with Ascaris lumbricoides and Hookworm (Double infestation) and Forty Two (42) subjects were infested with Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm, Entamoeba histolytica and Trichuris trichiura (Multiple infestation). The Mean ± Standard Deviation of Hemoglobin concentration of the various infestation types against the control subject shows a statistically significant decrease (P < 0.05). Our data confirm that intestinal parasites are associated with anemia irrespective of gender and age in children.

Intestinal parasitosis and anaemia among patients in a Health Center, North Ethiopia

“…In the present study, peak hookworm infection was recorded in participants of age 35–39 years. This result was in line with reports from Northwest Ethiopia [23], Southern Ethiopia [22], Uganda [15] and Nigeria [20, 32, 33]. Persistence of hookworms with age might be attributed to ignorance of foot wear among the adult agrarian males [20].…”

Intestinal Parasitosis, Haemoglobin and Eosinophil Levels of Patients Attending University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

“…Intestinal parasites were detected in thirty percent of the subjects studied (Fig.1). This finding differs from previous report (17.5%) in a study conducted among patients in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital [21] located in Northern Nigeria and in a study conducted in Okada, Edo State, Nigeria [15], 50% intestinal parasite infection was reported. The variance with the present study may be due to the fact that their study population consisted of children both in urban and rural areas.…”

“…Indeed, the anaemia observed in multiple infections in this study was largely due to Hookworm/Ascaris co-infection which recorded fifteen out of thirty occurrences. Haemoglobin concentration of subjects with multiple infections has been reported to be lower than the value obtained for single infections [15]. Interestingly, while the mean Hb of subjects with multiple infections was lower, their mean eosinophil count was higher when compared with values for subjects with single infections.…”

“…Eighty two percent of the study population in the present study were mostly adults (≥18 years), thus implying that anaemia is associated with intestinal parasitosis irrespective of age. The low haemoglobin concentration observed in intestinal parasitosis has been attributed to reduced iron absorption at the duodenum and jejunum since the parasites tend to colonize these sites, as well as chronic blood loss, especially in hookworm infection [15].…”

“…In normal individuals, eosinophils make up about 1-6% of white blood cells and are about 12-17 micrometers in size [12]. Anaemia and eosinophilia have been associated with helminthic infection previously [13][14][15][16] and a high prevalence of intestinal parasites (26.6% and 29%, respectively) has been reported among children as well as adults on anti-retroviral therapy in the study area (Calabar) [17,18]. There is scarcity of information on the occurrence of intestinal parasitic infection and its association with anaemia and eosinophilia in Calabar.…”