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Prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides infections among elementary school children and associated risk factors from Southern Ethiopia

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Abstract

Intestinal parasitic infections are distributed virtually throughout the world, with high prevalence rates in tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world as well as in Ethiopia. Children between age groups of 5–10 years are at the highest risk of infection. The intestinal nematode Ascaris lumbricoides infects approximately 25% of the world’s population annually. Hence, this study was the first attempt to assess the prevalence and associated factors of A. lumbricoides infection among the school children from Offa district, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to April, 2020 in three selected elementary school. Data were collected through questionnaires and stool samples examination. The overall prevalence of A. lumbricoides was noted as 41.4% and was the leading cause of intestinal parasitoids followed by Schistosoma mansoni (27.6%), Trichuris trichiura (18.1%) and Strongyloides stercoralis (4.1%). Children age group between 5 and 10 years found more susceptible to the infection. Eating habits like unwashed raw vegetables (P = 0.035), absence of toilets (P = 0.000), children who defecate in open field (P = 0.041), drinking unprotected water (P = 0.034), toilet without cover (P = 0.027), lack of hand washing before meal and after defecation (P = 0.000), (P = 0.048) were the key factors significantly associated with A. lumbricoides infection. The present study showed that A. lumbricoides was a major health problem among school children and requires annual de-worming to control morbidity associated with intestinal parasites.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thanks Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia for cooperating with the research work.

Funding

No specific funding has been received for the proposed work. Hence, declaration of funding is not applicable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Dilla University, SNNPR, 419, Dilla, Ethiopia

    Sunil Tulshiram Hajare, Tizazu Mulu, Nitin Mahendra Chauhan & Feleke Eriso

  2. Parul Institute of Applied Sciences, Parul University, 391760, Vadodara, Gujarat, India

    Vijay J. Upadhye

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  1. Sunil Tulshiram Hajare
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  2. Tizazu Mulu
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  3. Vijay J. Upadhye
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Contributions

NMC, STH, FE conceived and designed the study. TZ analyzed the data. STH, NMC, FE performed microscopy analysis of parasites. NMC and VU wrote the paper. STH, TZ, FE edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript for publication.

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Correspondence to Sunil Tulshiram Hajare.

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The authors declare that they don’t have any conflict of interest.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was reviewed and approved by the ethical committee of Biology department, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia. Ethical considerations were addressed by treating positive intestinal protozoa by giving the drug of choice freely under the prescription and clinical supervision by an authorized health professionals at study sites. The permission has been obtained from Gesuba town primary hospital for sample collection. The questionnaires concerning the prevalence study were filled during sample collection. Written consent was obtained from participants working in different establishments. Apart from these, respondents were asked to fill the questionnaire and assist during sample collection. The information obtained during course of study was kept confidential. Paper data were kept in a locked cabinet confidentially and computer based data were secured with passwords. Except the research team members, no one could access patient data.

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Hajare, S.T., Mulu, T., Upadhye, V.J. et al. Prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides infections among elementary school children and associated risk factors from Southern Ethiopia. J Parasit Dis 46, 643–652 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-022-01475-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-022-01475-5

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