Prevalence and Associated Factors of Intestinal Parasites in Ethiopian Ortodox Tewahido Church Religious Students, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Intestinal parasitic infections are the most serious medical and public health problems in developing countries. In Ethiopia, intestinal parasites are among the top ten causes of morbidity, especially in children. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of intestinal parasites among Ethiopian Orthodox church school students in Gondar town, northwest Ethiopia. Method: an institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence and associated factors of intestinal parasites among religious students in Gondar town from February 2019 to April 2019, northwest Ethiopia. A total of 360 participants were selected by the random sampling technique. Results In this study, a total of 360 Orthodox Tewahido church school students were participated. The over all parasite prevalence, 24.7% was relatively low compared with previous studies conducted in other localitie in Ethiopia. The predominanat parasites were A. lumbricoides S. mansoni and hookworm with (11.4%), (4.4%) and (3.6%) prevalence respectively, A significant association was observed among participants with habits of frequent swiming with 2.3 times higher probability of acquaring infections, but there was no association with gender, age, finger nail status, the habit of eating uncooked vegetables/ fruits, source of drinking water and proper toilet utilization. Conclusion In general, the prevalence of intestinal parasite infections was high and calls for intervention actions on Orthodox Tewahido church students. Moreover, swimming frequency and habits had a significant association. Since the prevalence was high, improvement in awareness and enhancing health seeking behavior of the students, deworming and health education need to be focused on.