Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jul;1(2):104-7.
doi: 10.4103/2229-5070.86946.

Intestinal parasitic infestation among children in a semi-urban Indian population

Dakshina Bisht  1 , Ajay K Verma, Hari Har Deep Bharadwaj
Affiliations

Intestinal parasitic infestation among children in a semi-urban Indian population

Dakshina Bisht et al. Trop Parasitol. 2011 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Survey on the prevalence of various intestinal parasitic infestations in different geographic regions is a prerequisite to obtain an accurate understanding of the burden and cause of intestinal parasitic infestations in a particular area. The aim of the present study was to determine the intestinal parasitic infestation among children in a semi-urban area.

Materials and methods: A total of 335 stool samples were collected, processed, and microscopically examined for intestinal parasites.

Results: One hundred twenty-eight (38%) stool samples showed presence of ova/cysts. Multiple parasites were seen in 42 (32.8%) samples. Among the protozoans, Entamoeba histolytica (55.3%) was the most common followed by Giardia lamblia (40.4%). Ascaris lumbricoides and Hymenolepis nana (24.2%) were the most common helminths detected.

Conclusions: In most of the cases, intestinal parasitic infestation spreads due to low standards of personal hygiene, poor sanitation, non-usage of toilets and an illiterate population, thus suggesting regular surveys to help in devising optimum methods of control.

Keywords: Diarrhea; intestinal parasites; semi-urban population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Amar CF, Dear PH, Pedraza-Diaz S, Looker N, Linnane E, Mclauchlin J. Sensitive PCR restriction fragment length polymosphism assay for detection and genotyping of Giardia duodenalis in human feces. J Clin Microbiol. 2002;40:446–52. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nokes C, Grantham SM, Swayer AW, Cooper ES, Bundy DA. Parasitic helminthic infection and cognitive function in schoolchildren. Proceed Roy Soc London B. 1992;247:77–81. - PubMed
    1. Hagne R, Ali IM, Sack RB, Farr BM, Ramakrishnan G, Petri WA., Jr Amoebiasis and mucosal IgA antibody against the Entamoeba histolytica adherence lectin in Bangladeshi children. J Infect Dis. 2001;183:1787–93. - PubMed
    1. Celiksoz A, Güler N, Guler G, Oztop AY, Degeril S. Prevalence of intestinal parasites in three socioeconomically different regions of Sivas, Turkey. J Health Popul Nutr. 2005;23:184–91. - PubMed
    1. Phiri K, Whitty CJ, Graham SM, Ssembatya–Lule G. Urban/rural differences in prevalence and risk factor for intestinal helminth infection in southern Malawi. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2000;94:381–7. - PubMed