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. 2019 Apr 25;19(1):341.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-019-3971-x.

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and associated risk factors among Jawi primary school children, Jawi town, north-west Ethiopia

Baye Sitotaw  1 , Haileyesus Mekuriaw  2 , Destaw Damtie  3
Affiliations

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and associated risk factors among Jawi primary school children, Jawi town, north-west Ethiopia

Baye Sitotaw et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) have been major public health problems in low income countries primarily affecting school children. Previous studies in Ethiopia have shown high burden of intestinal parasitic infections in most children. In order to gain a deeper insight into the magnitude of the problem more information is needed from different localities where similar studies have not been conducted. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of IPIs and associated risk factors among school children in Jawi Primary School, Jawi town, north -west Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2017 to assess the prevalence of IPIs and associated risk factors among Jawi Primary School children, Ethiopia. A total of 422 children were selected using age-stratified systematic random sampling technique. Stool samples were examined microscopically using direct wet-mount and formal-ether concentration techniques. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information regarding the associated risk factors. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and p value < 0.05 was taken as statistically significant.

Results: Of 406 students examined for IPIs, 235 (57.88%) were positive for one or more intestinal parasites. Single, double and triple infections were 41.9, 6.2 and 1.2%, respectively. Overall infection rate was slightly higher in males (51.85%) than in females (45.30%) though the difference was not significant. Higher prevalence rate (about 51-53%) was recorded among 6 to 18 years old children. Prevalence of Giardia lamblia was the highest (19.95%), followed by hookworm (13.8%), Schistosoma mansoni (10.3%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (5.9%), Hymenolepsis nana (4.2%), Taenia species (3%) and Ascaris lumbricoides (0.73%), in that order. Among the risk factors assessed, age, hand washing habit before meals, open field defecation habit, consistency of wearing shoes, habit of eating raw and unwashed vegetables, and finger nail cleanliness and trimming habit were found to be the most important predictors associated with high risk of IPIs (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: High prevalence of IPIs among Jawi Primary school children demands improved health education on regular hand washing, latrine use, wearing shoes, cleaning finger nails, not crossing rivers with bare foot and avoiding eating raw vegetables.

Keywords: Intestinal parasitic infections; Jawi town; Prevalence; Risk factor; School children.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

Baye Sitotaw (PhD) and Destaw Damtie (PhD) both working as assistant professor position in the department of Biology, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 79, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

Haileyesus Mekuriaw(MSc) working as Biology teacher at Jawi Secondary High school,Jawi Town, Ethiopia.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Before collecting the data, the ethical review committee of science college, Bahir Dar University cleared the study, and a letter describing the objective of the research was written to Jawi District Administration Educational Office and Jawi Elementary School. Consent was obtained from the children’s parents/guardians selected for the study after explaining the purpose and the procedures of the study. The study subjects who were positive for intestinal parasites were treated for free at Jawi clinic with specific drugs by a physician.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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