Intestinal parasitic infections: Current status and associated risk factors among school aged children in an archetypal African urban slum in Nigeria

Vincent P Gyang, Ting-Wu Chuang, Chien-Wei Liao, Yueh-Lun Lee, Olaoluwa P Akinwale, Akwaowo Orok, Olusola Ajibaye, Ajayi J Babasola, Po-Ching Cheng, Chia-Mei Chou, Ying-Chieh Huang, Pasaiko Sonko, Chia-Kwung Fan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) among school aged children (SAC) in Nigeria remains endemic, hence the need for regular surveillance to attract the attention of policy makers. This cross-sectional study investigated the current prevalence and factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections among school aged children in an urban slum of Lagos City, Nigeria.

METHODS: Single stool samples from 384 school aged children (188 boys and 196 girls) were examined by employing Merthiolate-iodine-formaldehyde concentration (MIFC) and Kato-Katz methods. Demographic characteristics and risk factors were obtained by questionnaires investigation.

RESULTS: The overall prevalence was 86.2% in school children, out of them 39.1% had polyparasitism. IPIs showed the highest to the lowest prevalence of 62% (238/384), 25% (97/384), 12.3% (47/384), 11.8% (45/384), 9.9% (38/384), 8.4% (32/384), 3.4% (13/384), and 0.5% (2/384) found in Ascaris lumbricoides, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Giardia duodenalis, Endolimax nana, Entamoeba coli, Trichuris trichiura, Blastocystis hominis, and hookworm infections, respectively. MIFC technique showed superiority to Kato-Katz technique in the detection of IPIs (p < 0.0001). Drinking untreated water was a significant risk factor for these school aged children in acquiring protozoan infections after multivariate adjustment (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.08-3.20, p = 0.02).

CONCLUSION: Intestinal parasitic infections are very severe among school aged children in the urban slums, thus regular mass de-worming programs, health education, and the provision of safe drinking water is recommended to combat IPIs among the school aged children.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)106-113
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection
Volume52
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2019

Keywords

  • Journal Article
  • Prevalence
  • Slum
  • Intestinal parasitic infections
  • Schoolchildren
  • Nigeria
  • Risk factors
  • Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/epidemiology
  • Parasitology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Risk Factors
  • Feces/parasitology
  • Male
  • Nigeria/epidemiology
  • Animals
  • Adolescent
  • Female
  • Poverty Areas
  • Child
  • Parasites/classification

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Immunology and Microbiology(all)
  • Immunology and Allergy

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