Prevalence, Intensity, and Factors Associated with Soil-Transmitted Helminths Infection among Children in Zambia: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Soil-transmitted helminths are among the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) of poverty. They are a common type of parasitic infections in the world, caused by three main species commonly known as roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms. The diseases have major health and socio-economic repercussions and significantly contribute to public health problems in developing countries. Objectives: This study investigated the prevalence, intensity, and factors associated with soil-transmitted helminths among children in Chililabombwe district of Zambia. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used, consisting of 411 guardian – child pairs aged between 17-77 years and 1-15 years, respectively. This was conducted between October and December 2017. Systematic sampling and simple random sampling were used to select the household and 411 participants, respectively. The study used a structured pre-tested questionnaire and stool tests to obtain information on socio-demographic, environmental, behavioral, and service-related factors associated with helminth infection. Stool samples were collected and examined for the presence of parasites using formol-ether concentration and Kato-Katz techniques. Geometric mean was used to report the intensity of infection. An investigator-led stepwise regression was used to identify factors associated with developing Soil-Transmitted Helminth infection and the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infection was 59/411 (14.4%) and the most dominant parasite was roundworms 58/411 (14.1%). The overall intensity of infection was light (<5000epg) with a few heavy infections (>50000epg). Factors independently associated with soil-transmitted helminth infection after adjusting for other variables were residence (AOR=0.26; 95% CI [0.09-0.73]), household income (AOR=2.49; 95% CI [1.01-6.12]), and overcrowding (AOR =1.33; 95% CI [1.09-1.62]). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that STH infections are still prevalent. Low household income, residence, and overcrowding are the factors associated with infection. This indicates that reinfection is common even after deworming.

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection and its associated factors among primary school students in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Like other studies we were also found fruit and vegetable washing affected the prevalence of IPI [ 73 ], which might relate to the level of cleanliness and soil transmission risks. Open defecation and the availability latrines were other potential causes of IPI in our findings, which is similar to a study done in Zambia [ 71 ]. This finding could reflect that those communities who experience unclean environments due to open defecation are more likely to transmit parasites through soil, water, fomites, foods, or other means.…”

“…This finding could reflect that educated mothers had better knowledge about IPI prevention and potentially better economic status enabling them to embrace the entire prevention process with available materials like soap/ash, water, shoes and other necessities. Additionally, in the current study, rural residents were 87% more likely to be infected by intestinal parasites, which is similar to findings from studies in Zambia and Nepal [ 71 , 72 ]. This situation may arise because rural community dwellers had lower awareness and more frequent contact with soil as well limited access to safe water and latrine.…”

Transmission of Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis in the Mifi Health District (West Region, Cameroon): Low Endemicity but Still Prevailing Risk

“…was the most prevalent soil-transmitted helminth species in all the five selected communities and sampling biotopes. This confirms the cosmopolitan character of that species as previously largely documented [24,25]. This can be explained by the fact that its eggs can survive for several months in soil, even in adverse environmental conditions due to their inner shell being of a lipoprotein nature, which makes them resistant to drastic environmental conditions [26].…”

Intestinal Parasitic Infection and Its Associated Factors Among Primary School Students in Ethiopia; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Like other studies we were also found fruit and vegetable washing affected the prevalence of IPI (75), which might relate to the level of cleanliness and soil transmission risks. Open defecation and the availability latrine were another potential cause of IPI in our ndings, which is similar to a study done in Zambia (73). This could re ect that those communities who experience unclean environments due to open defecation are more likely to transmit parasites through soil, water, fomites, food or other means.…”

“…This nding could re ect that educated mothers had better knowledge about IPI prevention and potentially better economic status enabling them to embrace the entire prevention process. Additionally, in the current study, rural residents were 87% more likely to be infected by intestinal parasites, which is similar to ndings from studies in Zambia and Nepal (73,74). This situation may arise because be rural community dwellers had lower awareness and more frequent contact with soil as well limited access to safe water and latrine.…”