Abstract
Objective:To estimate the prevalence of intestinal parasites and their species in Afghan school children and to establish appropriate treatment methods for detected pathogens.Methods:Parasitological examination of stool samples collected from 1369 children aged 8-18, students of the Jahan Malika High School in Ghazni Province in eastern Afghanistan, was conducted in the period November 2013-April 2014. Three stool samples were collected from each patient every second day; the samples were fixed in 10% formalin and tested by light microscopy using the methods of direct smear in Lugol’s solution, decantation in distilled water, and Fülleborn’s flotation.Results:Of 535 examined children (39.1% of the study group) were infected with nematodes (n=324), cestodes (n=118), trematodes (n=12), and protozoa (n=228), 132 were diagnosed with co-infections (mainly ascariasis+giardiasis, ascariasis+hymenolepiasis) and received single or combined therapy.Conclusions:The Afghan community is an example of population characterized by a high rate of parasitic infections. Owing to high prevalence of multiple infections among inhabitants of Afghanistan, it seems that a mass deworming campaign with a single-dose chemotherapy may prove ineffective in eradicating intestinal parasites in the local population.
Highlights
Intestinal parasitic infections belong to neglected diseases, one of the major health problems of the1
Afghan community is an example of a population with estimated a high index of intestinal parasitic infections
Sample collection and laboratory procedures: Three stool samples were collected from each patient every second day, the samples were fixed in 10% formalin, and transported to the Military Institute of Medicine in Poland, where they were tested by light microscopy using the methods of direct smear in Lugol’s solution, decantation in distilled water, and Fülleborn’s flotation technique.[8,9]
Summary
Intestinal parasitic infections belong to neglected diseases, one of the major health problems of the. Afghan community is an example of a population with estimated a high index of intestinal parasitic infections. Any improvement in the health status of the Afghan population is restrained by poor public awareness of the principles of disease prevention.[6] According to the U.S sources, the rates of amebiasis in the general population reach 3%, giardiasis has been found in nearly 11% of the examined children, and as much as 90% of the population may be infected with at least one intestinal parasite.[7] The data, are only rough estimates based on the results of few screening studies. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of intestinal parasites and their species in the Afghan community on the example of school children living in eastern part of the country as well as to establish appropriate treatment methods for detected pathogens
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