INTESTINAL PARASITOSIS IN RELATION TO HAEMOGLOBIN CONCENTRATION AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOLCHILDREN IN ERBIL PROVINCE KURDISTAN-IRAQ

An epidemiological study was carried out to investigate the types and prevalence of intestinal parasites and their relation to haemoglobin concentration among primary-school children in Erbil Province. The study included 512 males and 516 females. The direct and/or indirect zinc-sulphate flotation and cellophane tape test methods were followed for stool sample examination, and haemoglobin concentration was assessed by cyanmet-haemoglobin methods. The overall prevalence rate of intestinal parasites was 32.2%. The highest rate of infection was recorded among rural school children (33.4%), compared to children from urban areas (29.6%). The most common parasites were Enterobius vermicularis and Giardia lamblia, with the infection rates 29.8%, and 13.1%, respectively. The registering of Blastocystis hominus could be considered as the first in Erbil province with the infection rate of 1.7%. The significant differences were observed between mean values of Hb (gm/dl) and packed cell volume (PCV) (%) of infected children with non-infected children, at both 0.01 and 0.05 confidence levels. G. lamblia and B. Hominus have a significant effect on haemoglobin concentration. There were no significant differences between mean red blood cell counts among infected individuals and controls. We concluded that E. vermicularis cannot be detected using the flotation method, and instead found that the cellophane tape test was a superior method of examination.