Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis amongst kindergartens and preschool children in Mazandaran Province, North of Iran

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Parasitic Diseases Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Enterobiasis (oxyuriasis) is probably the most common helminth, which infects humans. Amongst different age groups, prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis in children is high compared to adults. Oxyuriasis is one of the most significant parasitic diseases of children. This nematode in children can result in loss of appetite, insomnia, grinding of the teeth, restlessness, endometritis, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and etc. Due to important complications of this parasite, the objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence of enterobiasis in kindergarten and preschool children of Amol, Mazandaran Province, North of Iran. A total number of 462 children from 32 kindergartens of Amol were examined for the prevalence of E. vermicularis infection, 2013. Adhesive cello-tape anal swab method was trained to parents for sampling. In addition, a questionnaire was designed and filled out to collect demographic information for each individual. Data were analyzed using Chi square test and multivariate logistic regression for each risk factor. The overall prevalence of E. vermicularis infection was 7.1 % (33). Although infection with E. vermicularis in girls 7.9 % was higher compared to boys 6.3 %, there was no significant difference between gender and age (p > 0.05) whereas binary logistic regression showed significant difference between enterobiasis and age (p < 0.05). The findings indicated that the prevalence of E. vermicularis in kindergarten and preschool children is relatively high and still is an important health problem and should not be underestimated due to being highly contagious infection. Therefore, educational programs and mass treatment should be carried out in order to reduce infection incidence in this area and regular parasitological test and attention to personal hygiene in kindergarten and preschool is of great importance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abedi S, Ezadi S, Davari B (2004) Prevalence of Oxyuris in kindergartens in Isfan using Graham in 1381. Hormozgan Med J 1:63–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Atash Nafas E, Ghorbani R, Peyvandi S, Imani E (2007) Prevalence of oxyuriasis and some related factors in kindergarten and primary school children in urban areas of Semnan province (2005). Koomesh 9(1):67–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunchu N, Vitta A, Thongwat D, Lamlertthon S, Pimolsri U, Waree P, Wongwigkarn J, Khamsri B, Cheewapat R, Wichai S (2011) Enterobius vermicularis infection among children in lower northern Thailand. J Trop Med Parasitol 34:36–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook GC (1994) Enterobius vermicularis infection. Gut 35:1159

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Daryani AB, Ettehad Gh (2003) Rate of oxiuriasis in kinder gardens of Ardebil. Sci Res J Ardebil Med Sch 6(8):18–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Guignard SAH, Freye L (2000) Prevalence of enterobiosis in the children of Cordobe province. Eur J Epidemiol 16:287–293

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haghi SM, Najm M, Fakhar M, Gholami S, Haghi SFM (2013) Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis infection among kindergartens in Mazandaran Province, 2011. J Mazand Univ Med Sci 23:241–247

  • Haswell-Elkins M, Elkins D, Manjula K, Michael E, Anderson R (1987) The distribution and abundance of Enterobius vermicularis in a South Indian fishing community. Parasitology 95:339–354

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hazratitape K, Salari S, Alavi S, Tankhahahi B (2007) Spreading of oxyuris and effective factors on that in Urmia kindergartens. J Urmia Univ Med Sci 17(4):273–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang K, Tsai W, Lincy L (2002) Detection of Enterobius vermicularis eggs in the submucosa of the transverse colon of a man presented with colon carcinoma. Am J Trop Med Hyg 67:546–548

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maghrebi M (1994) Determination of oxiuriasis in kinder gardens of South of Tehran, Ph.D. thesis

  • Muller R (2002) Worms and human disease. Cabi Publishing, Oxfordshire

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nasiri V, Esmailnia K, Karim G, Nasir M, Akhavan O (2009) Intestinal parasitic infections among inhabitants of Karaj City, Tehran province, Iran in 2006–2008. Korean J Parasitol 47:265–268

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Neghina R, Neghina AM, Marincu I, Iacobiciu I (2011) Intestinal nematode infections in Romania: an epidemiological study and brief review of literature. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis 11:1145–1149

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ng YW Ng, Ng SB, Low J (2011) Enterobius vermicularis infestation of the endometrium—a cause of menstrual irregularity and review of literature. Ann Acad Med Singap 40:514

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nithikathkul C, Changsap B, Wannapinyosheep S, Poister C, Boontan P (2001) The prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among primary school students in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Pub Health 32:133–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Noor Hayati M, Rajeswari B (1991) The epidemiology and symptomatology of enterobiasis among young children attending a community clinic in Kuala Lumpur, Peninsular Malaysia. Trop Biomed 8:151–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Nourozian MB, Youssefi MR (2012) Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis in Babol Medical School, 2011. World Appl Sci J 19:634–636

    Google Scholar 

  • Nourozian MB, Youssefi MR (2013) Investigation of oxyuris (Enterobius vermicularis) prevalence in kindergarten and primary school children of Babol city, Mazandaran, Iran 2009. Ann Trop Med Pub Health 6:20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park JH, Han ET, Kim WH, Shin EH, Guk SM, Kim JL, Chai JY (2005) A survey of Enterobius vermicularis infection among children on western and Southern Coastal Islands of the Republic of Korea. Korean J Parasitol 43:129–134

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts L, Janovy J Jr (2000) Foundations of parasitology. Mcgraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Sha-Mohammadi Z, Ghahramani F, Mahboubi M, Jalilian F, Neiakane-Shahri M, Mohammadi M (2014) Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis (Pinworm) in Kermanshah city nurseries, using Graham: 2014. J Biol Today's World 3:24–27

  • Sharif M, Ziaie Hezar Garibi H (2000) Study the rate of Oxyuris vermicularis and vulvitis in children of 2–5 years of age in Sari township kindergarten in 1378. J Mazandaran Univ Med Sci 10(27):59–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoup B (2001) Diagnosis and management of pinworm infection. Prim Care Update Ob/Gyns 8:240–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Youssefi MR, Mousapour A, Nikzad R, Gonzalez-Solis D, Halajian A, Rahimi MT (2014) Gastrointestinal helminths of the Caspian turtle, Mauremys caspica (Testudines), from Northern Iran. J Parasit Dis 2014:1–4

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors greatly appreciate the financial support received through a research grant from Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (the Project Number: 216).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Student Laboratory Sciences of the Amol Faculty of Paramedics, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Narges Afrakhteh, Sahar Garoosian, Reyhaneh Mirnezhad, Mahsa Eshkevar Vakili & Haniye Ahmadi Shahraj

  2. Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Science, Zanjan, Iran

    Zahra Marhaba

  3. Amol Faculty of Paramedics, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Seif Ali Mahdavi & Behzad Javadian

  4. Amol Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Rozita Rezaei

  5. School of Health, Health Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Mahmood Moosazadeh

Authors
  1. Narges Afrakhteh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zahra Marhaba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Seif Ali Mahdavi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sahar Garoosian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Reyhaneh Mirnezhad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mahsa Eshkevar Vakili
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Haniye Ahmadi Shahraj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Behzad Javadian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Rozita Rezaei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Mahmood Moosazadeh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seif Ali Mahdavi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Afrakhteh, N., Marhaba, Z., Mahdavi, S.A. et al. Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis amongst kindergartens and preschool children in Mazandaran Province, North of Iran. J Parasit Dis 40, 1332–1336 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-015-0683-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-015-0683-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation