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International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences Research Article
Prevalence and risk factors associated with helminthic infections among pre-school children in Katsina Metropolis, Katsina State, Nigeria
Abdulhamid Ahmed and Aminu Sani
Year : 2019 | Volume: 4 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 126-133
Received on: 05/05/2019
Revised on: 05/20/2019
Accepted on: 05/23/2019
Published on: 30/06/2019
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Abdulhamid Ahmed and Aminu Sani( 2019).
Prevalence and risk factors associated with helminthic infections among pre-school children in Katsina Metropolis, Katsina State, Nigeria
. International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences, 4( 3), 126-133.
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Abstract
Intestinal helminth infections are prevalent and a matter of public health concern throughout the developing countries of the world. The present survey was conducted to assess the current prevalence and risk factors of soil-transmitted helminth infections among pre-school children in Katsina metropolis, Katsina state, Nigeria. A total of 302 children, aged 1-5 years, comprising 52.3% females and 47.7% males were involved in the study. Socio-demographic information of the children and their parents were obtained using a pre-tested questionnaire. Stool sample was collected and analyzed using formol-ether concentration technique. The result showed that 60.3% of the children were infected with at least one species of soil-transmitted helminth parasite. Ascaris lumbricoides (79.1%) was the most prevalent parasite isolated. It is followed by Hookworm (20.4%) while Trichuris trichiura (5.5%) was the least prevalent. Analysis of the possible risk factors associated with the infection among the children showed that, female gender (χ2 = 6.056; P = 0.014) and age group 4-5 years old (χ2 = 22.379; P = <0.0001) were among the main risk factors of infection among the study subjects. Other risk factors identified were, Consumption of untreated water (χ2 = 63.824; P = <0.001) and Geophagy/soil eating (χ2 = 8.217; P = 0.004). Soil-transmitted helminthiasis is thus a common phenomenon among the pre-school children in the study area. Efforts to improve the health status of the children should include regular monitoring, provision of clean water, deworming and awareness campaigns.
Keywords
Katsina, pre-school children, Parasites, Soil-transmitted helminths.
