Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Pre-School-Aged and School-Aged Children in an Urban Slum: A Cross-Sectional Study of Prevalence, Distribution, and Associated Exposures

Davis, Stephanie M.; Worrell, Caitlin M.; Wiegand, Ryan E.; Odero, Kennedy; Suchdev, Parminder S.; Ruth, Laird J.; López, Gerard; Cosmas, Leonard; Neatherlin, John; Njenga, Sammy M.; Montgomery, Joel M.; Fox, LeAnne M.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.14-0060

Cited by 44 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Prevalence of 41.46% in a district in Northern Ethiopia [6] and 31% from rural Kenya [9] was reported. Also a prevalence of 40.5% and 40.7% among preschool age children and school age children, respectively, was reported in Kenya [10]. However, the prevalence of helminth infestation in the current study was relatively higher than other studies conducted in children in the Ashanti region (11.1%) of Ghana [11] and in Osun State in Nigeria (12.2%) [12].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

Prevalence of Intestinal Helminths Infestation in Children Attending Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital in Accra, Ghana

Mirisho

Neizer²,

Sarfo

2017

Journal of Parasitology Research

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The deworming exercise program does not cover all children who are not in school. This study determined the prevalence and species type of helminth infestation and associated factors among children attending Princess Marie Louise Children's Hospital in Accra, Ghana. Children (225) below the age of 10 who have not taken antihelminthic drugs prior to the study period were recruited between May and June 2015. Children or guardians were interviewed using structured questionnaires and fresh stools were collected and processed for helminths species identification using microscopy. Data were analyzed using Stata version 12. Overall helminths infestation prevalence was 17.33% (39/225). The identified species were hookworm (10.22% (23/225)) and Ascaris lumbricoides (7.11% (16/225)). No double infestation was observed. Significant associations were observed between infestation and age group beyond 4 years (48 months) (aOR = 16.72, 95% CI 1.00–279.72), place of residence (aOR = 7.35, 95% CI 1.68–32.11), washing hands after using toilet (0.04, 95% CI 0.01–0.20), and dirt on fingernails of children (7.96, 95% CI 1.73–36.65). This study demonstrates high prevalence of helminths parasites, hookworm, and Ascaris lumbricoides in children attending PMLCH. Deworming exercise should be extended to children hospitals in developing countries.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

Prevalence of Intestinal Helminths Infestation in Children Attending Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital in Accra, Ghana

Mirisho

Neizer²,

Sarfo

2017

Journal of Parasitology Research

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“…Details of this study are provided elsewhere [33]. In brief, IEIP enrolls all adults and children with head-of-household consent who have been living in all households in the two-village study area continuously for at least four months.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unprogrammed Deworming in the Kibera Slum, Nairobi: Implications for Control of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases

et al. 2015

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BackgroundPrograms for control of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are increasingly evaluating national mass drug administration (MDA) interventions. However, “unprogrammed deworming” (receipt of deworming drugs outside of nationally-run STH control programs) occurs frequently. Failure to account for these activities may compromise evaluations of MDA effectiveness.MethodsWe used a cross-sectional study design to evaluate STH infection and unprogrammed deworming among infants (aged 6–11 months), preschool-aged children (PSAC, aged 1–4 years), and school-aged children (SAC, aged 5–14 years) in Kibera, Kenya, an informal settlement not currently receiving nationally-run MDA for STH. STH infection was assessed by triplicate Kato-Katz. We asked heads of households with randomly-selected children about past-year receipt and source(s) of deworming drugs. Local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and school staff participating in school-based deworming were interviewed to collect information on drug coverage.ResultsOf 679 children (18 infants, 184 PSAC, and 477 SAC) evaluated, 377 (55%) reported receiving at least one unprogrammed deworming treatment during the past year. PSAC primarily received treatments from chemists (48.3%) or healthcare centers (37.7%); SAC most commonly received treatments at school (55.0%). Four NGOs reported past-year deworming activities at 47 of >150 schools attended by children in our study area. Past-year deworming was negatively associated with any-STH infection (34.8% vs 45.4%, p = 0.005). SAC whose most recent deworming medication was sourced from a chemist were more often infected with Trichuris (38.0%) than those who received their most recent treatment from a health center (17.3%) or school (23.1%) (p = 0.05).ConclusionUnprogrammed deworming was received by more than half of children in our study area, from multiple sources. Both individual-level treatment and unprogrammed preventive chemotherapy may serve an important public health function, particularly in the absence of programmed deworming; however, they may also lead to an overestimation of programmed MDA effectiveness. A standardized, validated tool is needed to assess unprogrammed deworming.

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“…Until now, faecal surveys on the prevalence of STHs have often relied on stool concentration methods such as the Kato-Katz [ [15][16][17][18], Mini-FLOTAC and McMaster [19] techniques. With standard methods, prevalence studies are affected by a lack of sensitivity.…”

Section: Prevalence Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel approaches to the diagnosis of Strongyloides stercoralis infection

Buonfrate

Formenti

Perandin

et al. 2015

Clinical Microbiology and Infection

189

168

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Strongyloides stercoralis differs from the other soil-transmitted helminths because it puts infected subjects at risk of a fatal syndrome (in cases of immunosuppression for medical conditions, immunosuppressant therapies, or both). Chronic strongyloidiasis is often a non-severe condition, or is sometimes even asymptomatic, but diagnosis and effective therapy are essential in order to eradicate the infection and the life-long risk involved. Therefore, diagnostic methods need to be highly sensitive. Stool microscopy and the Kato-Katz technique are commonly used in prevalence studies, but they are inadequate for S. stercoralis detection. This is probably the main reason why the global prevalence has long been underestimated. Concentration methods, the Baermann technique and Koga agar plate culture have better, but still unsatisfactory, sensitivity. Serological tests have demonstrated higher sensitivity; although some authors have concerns about their specificity, it is possible to define cut-off values over which infection is almost certain. In particular, the luciferase immunoprecipitation system technique combined with a recombinant antigen (NIE) demonstrated a specificity of almost 100%. ELISA coproantigen detection has also shown promising results, but still needs full evaluation. Molecular diagnostic methods are currently available in a few referral centres as in-house techniques. In this review, on the basis of the performance of the different diagnostic methods, we outline diagnostic strategies that could be proposed for different purposes, such as: prevalence studies in endemic areas; individual diagnosis and screening; and monitoring of cure in clinical care and clinical trials.

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Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Pre-School-Aged and School-Aged Children in an Urban Slum: A Cross-Sectional Study of Prevalence, Distribution, and Associated Exposures

Cited by 44 publications

References 30 publications

Prevalence of Intestinal Helminths Infestation in Children Attending Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital in Accra, Ghana

Prevalence of Intestinal Helminths Infestation in Children Attending Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital in Accra, Ghana

Unprogrammed Deworming in the Kibera Slum, Nairobi: Implications for Control of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases

Novel approaches to the diagnosis of Strongyloides stercoralis infection

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