Prevalence of intestinal parasites among primary school children

Background : Intestinal parasitism is a public health problem in tropical countries. It is associated with complications such as intestinal obstruction, mal-absorption, anemia, retarded growth, low cognitive skills and low participation among school aged children. Several prevalence studies have been done in different parts of the country. However, to the best of our knowledge, none has been reported from northeastern part of Nigeria. This study was therefore carried out to investigate the prevalence of intestinal parasitism among primary school children in Wukari Local Government Area (L.G.A) of Taraba State-Nigeria. Methods : A total of 1123 fecal samples were randomly collected from five primary schools pupils and examined using the direct wet mount preparation and formol ether concentration method. Results : Four hundred and ten samples (410) had intestinal parasites with prevalence of 36.5%. The distribution of the parasites were as follows: Hookworm (26.5%), Entamoeba coli  (19.1%), Iodaemoeba butschlii (9.6%), Entamoeba histolytica  (6.6%), Teania species (2.2%), Giardia lamblia (2.0%),  Hymenolepis nana (1%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.3%), Ascaris  lumbricoides (0.8%), Trichuris trichiura (0.3%), Schistosoma  mansoni (0.3%), and Enterobius vermicularis (0.1%). Conclusion : The study highlights the prevalence of intestinal parasites among primary school children in the study area with an overall prevalence of 36.5%. Keywords : Parasites, parasitism, Helminths, Protozoa, prevalence