Epidemiological Profile of Intestinal Parasitic Infections Among Children Living in Koranic Schools: A Cross Sectional Survey

Souleye Lelo,Jean Louis Abdourahime Ndiaye,Fatimata Ly,Nick Chenise,Issac Akhenaton Manga,Magatte Ndiaye,Babacar Faye,Roger Clement Tine,Massamba Syll,Khadime Sylla,Cheikh Binetou Fall,Doudou Sow

doi:10.11648/j.ijidt.20190404.13

Souleye Lelo, Jean Louis Abdourahime Ndiaye + Show 10 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijidt.20190404.13

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Abstract

Intestinal parasitic infections causes significant morbidity in worldwide. In Senegal, since 2005 mass deworming campaign has been introduced as a preventive strategy. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among children living in Koranic teaching Schools in Senegal. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to May 2018. Koranic schools were selected using simple random sampling and data on socio-demographic characteristicsand prevalence were collected. Stool samples were collected and treated accordingly. Descriptive analysis was performed using Stata software. Significance level was set at 5%. A total of 463 children were recruited in this study. The mean age of study population was 10.93 ± 2.4. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 22.68%. Poly-parasitism was detected in 20% of students. Students infected with single, double and triple parasites were 80%, 19.05% and 0.95%, respectively. The most common parasites were Entomoba coli cyst (33.33%), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (32.38%), Giardia cyst (9.52%), Trichirus Trichiura (3.81%) and Schistosoma mansoni 0.95%. Intestinal parasites were more common in peri-urban areas (66.31%). Intestinal parasitic infection has been found to be very common in Koranic school children. Therefore, health education, improvement of learning and living conditions, and student deworming are essential.

Highlights

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPI) are still public health problems in many communities, among children living in developing countries
In Sub-Saharan countries, 866 million individuals are infected by Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH), with the majority of these infections occurring among school children
The results of this study showed that intestinal parasitic infection increased with age

Summary

Introduction

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPI) are still public health problems in many communities, among children living in developing countries. More than 2 billion people in worldwide are estimated to be infected with IPI and more than half of the world’s population are at risk of infection [1, 2]. In Sub-Saharan countries, 866 million individuals are infected by Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH), with the majority of these infections occurring among school children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 450 million are ill [3, 4]. In addition to the morbidity and mortality, infections with intestinal parasites have been associated with stunting, underweight, physical weakness and low educational performance in school children [5.6]. The control strategies of STH in many endemic countries usually involve mass drug administration (MDA) programmes with single oral dose of mebendazole or Albendazole periodically administered to pre-school and school children [7,8,9]

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Discussion

Conclusion