Intestinal Parasitic Infections Among Acute Malnourished Children During Ebola at Ratoma Medical Center of Conakry, Guinea

Abstract

Intestinal parasitic infections are particularly severe in children in whom they can lead to malnutrition and decreased resistance to infections. In Guinea, no study has examined the burden of intestinal parasitic infections among malnourished children, especially in the context of the Ebola outbreak. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections among acute malnourished children at the Ratoma Communal Medical Center in Conakry in 2015. A 6-month cross-sectional study was conducted from April to October 2015 at the Ratoma Communal Medical Center of Conakry, Guinea. It included all children aged 6-36 months diagnosed with acute malnutrition, whose caregivers consented for the study. A total of 220 children suffering from acute malnutrition were included in the study. The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in the sample was 27%. Different parasitic species were identified in the infected children and included Ascaris lumbricoides (15%, n =33), Enterobius vermicularis (6%, n=13), Entamoeba coli (5%, n=11), and Taenia saginata (1%, n=3). Only children's age was associated with intestinal parasitic infections (AOR=1.37; 95% CI: 1.18-1.58). Household-based awareness-raising on under-five intestinal infections prevention along with deworming campaigns would constitute effective post-Ebola interventions toward the reduction of intestinal parasitic infections and malnutrition burden in under-five children in Guinea.

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites among the Malnourished Children in Enugu, Nigeria

“…Ascaris lumbricoides were the most prevalent parasite detected. This aligns with the work done in Guinea [22] but at variance with what was obtained in Akwa Ibom, South-South Nigeria that reported hookworm as the most prevalent parasite [23]. Ascaris lumbricoides are known to impair nutritional status and have been found among other helminths to be associated with malnutrition in children [23,25].…”

“…Intestinal parasitic infections in malnourished children in this work were not aged dependent P>0.05. This does not agree with the work of many researchers that reported age as a significant risk factor [2,5,13,22,34]. This disparity may have been due to the nutritional status of these patients that predisposed them to intestinal parasitic infections.…”

“…In our study, there was an overall prevalence of 51.8% of IPIs among malnourished children. This prevalence is higher when compared to the work done in Guinea that reported 27% among the malnourished children [22] but lower than 58.3% and 67.4% reported in Oshodi Lagos and Akwa Ibom respectively all in Nigeria [5,23]. This high prevalence may due to ignorance, lack of basic amenities, poor sanitation, poverty, inadequate access to healthcare [23].…”

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitosis in Guinea: Systematic Review of the Literature and Meta-Analysis

“…However, the calculation of prevalence for P1 is based only on a limited number of studies that were available according to inclusion criteria and probably this is underestimating and not reflecting the real prevalence. In addition, it is well known that during the 2014–2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, routine health activities slowed down, including community-based activities such as deworming campaigns [ 3 ].…”

“…The promiscuity and lack of hygiene associated with poverty favor their expansion. In some regions of the world, particularly in sub-tropical and tropical areas, intestinal parasitic infections are endemic and remain one of the leading causes of increased morbidity and mortality, justifying the mobilization of resources and actions aimed at their control and eradication [ 3 , 4 ].…”