HELMINTHIASIS AMONG PRIMARY RURAL SCHOOLCHILDREN IN BACHOK, KELANTAN

A cross-sectional study on helminthiasis among rural primary school children aged 9 to 10 years Bachok, Kelantan was performed. A total of 680 schoolchildren participated in the study. Stool specimens were examined for the presence of the ova of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm. The worm load was then measured using the modified Stoll' s volumetric dilution technique. The overall prevalence of helminthiasis was 77.2%. Trichuris trichiura were the commonest type of heminth noted -66 .8%, compared with Ascaris lumbricoides ( 49. 7%) and hookworm ( 1 .8%) . Mixed infections with Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura was the commonest type of infection 249(41.5%). For Ascaris lumbricoides, 34.6% had mild and 51 .3% had moderate worm load while for Trichuris trichiura, 66.5% had mild and 30.8 % had moderate worm load. Only 14.1 % and 2.7% of the schoolchildren had a heavy load of Ascaris lumbricoides and T richuris trichiura respectively. All the schoolchildren with hookworm were only mildly infected. Targeted mass treatment for rural Malay