Prevalence of intestinal parasites among primary school children in Makurdi, Benue State- Nigeria

In order to identify the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and to determine the impact of some factors such as age, sex and complaints related to these infections, this cross sectional study was carried out on 1000 stool specimen of primary school children in Makurdi, Benue State-Nigeria. Using direct smear and formol ether sedimentation techniques to process the faeces, 585(58.5%) of the samples were found positive for various intestinal parasites with Hookworm species accounting for 34.2%; Ascaris lumbricoides 16.1%; Trichuris trichiura 15.9%; Enterobius vermicularis 6.2%; Strongyloides stercolaris 1.7%; Taenia spp 3.9%; Hymenolepis nana 1.8%; Schistosoma mansoni 0.6%; Entamoeba histolytica 2.2%; Entamoeba coli 1.5%; Giardia lamblia 1.3%. Cases of polyparasitism were also detected but none of the pupils had more than three parasite species. Sex and age did not affect the pattern of infection (P>0.05) since the parasites were similarly found in both sexes and all age groups though with observable varying degree. Results also showed that the average school pupil in Makurdi carry heavy intestinal parasites burden. It is concluded that sanitary measures and deworming program should be conducted in primary schools to decrease the rate of intestinal parasitic infections.