Epidemiology of intestinal parasites among school children in Mthatha, South Africa.

Authors'abstract:

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections remain a major challenge in resource-limited countries. The study sought to determine the aetiology of, rates and factors associated with the presence of intestinal parasitic infections among school children in a rural public school of Mthatha, Eastern Cape Province. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from March to October 2011. The study sample was randomly selected. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic information and formalin ethyl acetate sedimentation technique on stool samples obtained from the study participants was used to identify the infecting parasites. The data were analysed using SPSS v22.0. Results: Of the 137 participants, 72 (52.6%) were females and 65 (47.4%) males. The presence of parasitic infections was significantly associated with unemployment status (OR=3.5; P = 0.005) and low level education (OR=7; P = 0.004) of children’s parents. Intestinal parasites were identified among 91 of the 137 (66.4%) stool samples analysed. Of the pathogenic helminths, Ascaris lumbricoides had the highest prevalence rate (21.9%) followed by Trichuris trichiura (8.8%), and Hymenolepis nana (2.9%). Among protozoa, non-pathogenic Entamoeba coli and Endolimax nana showed the highest prevalence rates of 33.6% and 29.2% respectively. Co-infection with protozoa and helminths was observed among 17 (12.4%) participants. A high rate of multiple infections was observed among 46 (33.6%) participants with the age group of 10 to 12 years being the most affected. Conclusion: Periodic deworming campaigns and environmental hygiene in government schools are highly recommended.

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