Risk factors for Enterobius vermicularis infection in children in Gaozhou, Guangdong, China

Abstract

BackgroundEnterobius vermicularis infection is a prevalent intestinal parasitic disease in children. In this study, we explored the epidemiological status and risk factors for E. vermicularis infection in children in southern China.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was carried out in Gaozhou city, Guangdong province, China, in December 2011. Children aged 2–12 years from five schools participated in the study. The adhesive cellophane-tape perianal swab method was applied to detect E. vermicularis infection, while a questionnaire was sent to each child’s guardian(s) to collect demographic and socioeconomic data, as well as hygiene behaviors, pertaining to each child. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to capture the potential risk factors.ResultsOut of the 802 children surveyed, 440 were infected with E. vermicularis, with an average prevalence of 54.86 %, and a range from 45.96 to 68.13 %. The age variable was found to be statistically significant, whereas the sex variable was not. It was found that a mother’s education level (low) and not washing hands before dinner were major risk factors in all children (802). After stratification by age, a father’s education level (primary or below) and biting pencils (or toys) were significant risk factors in the younger children (508), while not washing hands before dinner and playing on the ground were important risk factors in the older children (294).ConclusionThis study demonstrates the prevalence of E. vermicularis infection in children in Gaozhou and reveals underlying risk factors. Most importantly, it reveals that risk factors differ among the different age groups, which indicates that different control measures targeted at particular age groups should be implemented.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40249-015-0058-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Prevalence of Enterobius Vermicularis Infections and Associated Risk Factors Among Schoolchildren in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

“…Higher infection rates among boys may be due to boys involved in more activities, close contact with other children, and poor personal hygiene than girls. Among the age groups, children 3 to 6 years of age were more at risk to be infected with E. vermicularis, which is consistent with previous studies [13,29,30]. This could be because they have more group activities together, take naps together during the day on the oor mat, and poor personal hygiene than older children.…”

“…In many parts of the world, the prevalence of E. vermicularis infections varies between 0.21-54.86% [1][2][3][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. In Thailand, the prevalence of E. vermicularis infections varies between 0-50.90% [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30].…”

Intestinal parasitosis, undernutrition and socio-environmental factors in schoolchildren from Clorinda Formosa, Argentina

“…Enterobius vermicularis infection is favored by gaming habits and personal hygiene practices of children, as well as by bed-sharing and overcrowding. (29) As for the population studied, 50% lived in overcrowded conditions and shared single beds. Moreover, 47% of children had onychophagia.…”

Enterobiasis epidemiology and molecular characterization of Enterobius vermicularis in healthy children in north-eastern Poland

“…Also, the proportions of infected and not infected children in particular study groups have remained similar over the years, with the highest prevalence of enterobiasis in children from orphanages (32.8 %) and signifi cantly lower in the group of children living in families (3.9 %). Despite the fact that the risk of enterobiasis increases in the older nursery and school children (over the age of 5 years) (Song et al, 2003;Remm 2006;Li et al, 2015), some researchers have not found a relationship between the age of children and the prevalence of E. vermicularis infection. In our study, similarly to the study results from Argentina (Pezzani et al, 2004), Estonia (Remm & Remm, 2008) and Norway (Bøås et al, 2012), the gender of children was unrelated with the enterobiasis prevalence, although several reports have shown boys to be more frequently affected than girls (Remm, 2006;Fig.…”