Soil transmitted helminths and schistosoma mansoni infections among school children in zarima town, northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundIn Ethiopia, because of low quality drinking water supply and latrine coverage, helminths infections are the second most predominant causes of outpatient morbidity. Indeed, there is a scarcity of information on the prevalence of soil transmitted helminths and Schistosomiasis in Ethiopia, special in study area. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of soil transmitted helminths and intestinal Schistosomiasis.MethodsCross-sectional study was conducted among 319 school children of Zarima town from April 1 to May 25, 2009. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data and possible risk factors exposure. Early morning stool samples were collected and a Kato Katz semi concentration technique was used to examine and count parasitic load by compound light microscope. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS-15 version and p-value < 0.05 considered statistically significant.ResultsOut of 319 study subjects, 263 (82.4%) of the study participants infected with one or more parasites. From soil transmitted helminths, Ascaris lumbricoides was the predominant isolate (22%) followed by Hookworms (19%) and Trichuris trichiura (2.5%). Schistosoma mansoni was also isolated in 37.9% of the study participants. Hookworm and S. mansoni infections showed statistically significant associations with shoe wearing and swimming habit of school children, respectively.ConclusionPrevalence of soil transmitted helminths (STH) and S.mansoni was high and the diseases were still major health problem in the study area which alerts public health intervention as soon as possible.

Ethiopian pre-school children consuming a predominantly unrefined plant-based diet have low prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia

“…However, the combined use of both CRP and AGP can reduce underestimation of Fe deficiency prevalence essentially to zero (43) . Soil helminthes, gastrointestinal parasitic infestation, malaria (44,45) or indoor air pollution (46,47) could be some of the factors contributing to infection or inflammation in children from rural Ethiopia. In addition, 22·9 % of children in the present study reported illness during the two weeks preceding the survey.…”

Prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis and other intestinal parasitic infections among mentally retarded residents in central institution of southern Iran

“…The rate of infections varies according to socio-economical situations and hygienic behaviors [2,[4][5][6][7] . Contamination of water and food sources with human wastes and insufficient hygiene are main causes of fecal-oral transmitted intestinal parasitic infections [8][9][10] .…”

“…Soil-transmitted helminthes (STH) as a major health problem caused by Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and the hookworms are the most prevalent worldwide [7] and, Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis) is the most neglected one among them [9,11,12] . It is estimated that over 1 billion people are infected with STH and 30-100 millions with S. stercoralis worldwide [7,[11][12][13][14] .…”

“…It is estimated that over 1 billion people are infected with STH and 30-100 millions with S. stercoralis worldwide [7,[11][12][13][14] . S. stercoralis's unique life cycle makes it possible to survive in human host and causes autoinfection to lead chronic disease which could have remained for several years [13][14][15] .…”

Eliminación de estadios juveniles de Ascaris lumbricoides (Linneo, 1758) por via oral: Reporte de un caso y algunas consideraciones epidemiológicas

“…La prevalencia en pueblos aborígenes de Malasia fl uctúa entre 4,6 a 86,7% 15 ; en Brasil diversos estudios demuestran prevalencias de 5,8 a 59,5% [16][17] . En Etiopía un estudio reciente demostró 22% de ascaridiasis 18 . Por otra parte, la frecuencia aumenta frente a situaciones de desastres naturales 19 .…”