Magnitude of Intestinal Parasitosis among Under Five Year Children Presenting with Acute Diarroheal Illness in South Ethiopian Hospital

Background : Diarrhoea is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years in low-income and middle-income countries. Intestinal protozoa Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium are common causes of diarrhea in children in developing countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of intestinal parasites associated with acute diarrhea among children of five years of age and below. Methods and materials : A cross sectional study was conducted from Sep 2015 to Aug 2016 at Wolaita Sodo University Teaching and Referral Hospital from 423 under five year children. Convenient sampling method was applied for data collection. Stool specimen was collected and examined by using wet mount, iodine staining and formol-ether concentration technique. SPSS version 21 was applied and mean, median and frequency was calculated. The association has assessed using x2 –test. Variables that had a significant association have selected for further analysis using multiple logistic regression models with a p-value < 0.05 considered as statistically significant. Result : Twenty one percent, 87(21.2%) were positive for at least one intestinal parasite. Co-infection were observed in only 4(0.98%) of children. G. lamblia was the predominant parasite isolated 44(50.6%) followed by E. histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii 26. Out of the total 87 isolated parasites, 47 were from male children and the remaining 40 parasites were isolated from female children. There is no statistical significant association between gender and parasite infection (P=0.52). Children aged between 2.1-3 years showed higher intestinal parasites load with the prevalence of 28.4%. There was no statistical significance association observed between age and parasite infection (P=0.106). Conclusion and recommendation : G. lamblia and E. histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii , were relatively prevalent among under-five children in the study area. Studies on causative organisms of childhood diarrhea should be carried out regularly and microbe-specific intervention strategies should be carried out for the control of childhood diarrhea. Keywords: Intestinal parasites, under five, Children, WSUTRH, Diarrohea