Abstract
Intestinal parasites are globally endemic, affecting the health, growth and development of children world- wide. The child day care centres are said to be one of the environments where children are potentially exposed to infections. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites among children in day care centres in Esan West Local Government Area in Edo State, Nigeria and thus confirm whether child day care centres expose children to intestinal parasite infections in the local government area. Stool samples were collected from 80 children (36 males and 44 females), age range 4 months to 5 years from 7 day care centres, after parents or guardians gave their informed consent and filled a structured questionnaire on their wards. The samples were examined macroscopically and then microscopically for parasitic infections using wet preparation and formol-ether concentration technique. Overall prevalence of intestinal parasites in the study was 13.8%. The only protozoon identified was Entamoeba coli (2.5%), while the helminthes identified were Ascaris lumbricoides (8.8%) and Trichuris trichiura (2.5%). Multiple infections (1.3.0%) also occurred in the children. The intestinal parasite infections was highest in age group 2-3 years, 8 (15.7%) and in males, 5 (13.9%). Ascaris lumbricoides had the highest prevalence in age group 2-3 years, 6 (11.8%) and in females, 6 (13.6%). The differences in age and sex related intestinal parasites infections were statistically significant (p<0.05). Thus, this study indicated that intestinal parasites are prevalent among children in day care centres in Esan West Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria.
Highlights
Intestinal parasitic infections caused by protozoa and helminths are globally endemic and have been described as constituting the greatest single worldwide cause of illness and disease (Chan, 1997; Pillai and Kain, 2003)
Out of the 80 children (36 males and 44 females), age range 4 months-5 years examined, 11 of them were infected by intestinal parasites giving an overall prevalence of 13.8%
Three parasites were identifiedEntamoeba coli (2.5%), Ascaris lumbricoides (8.8%) and Trichuris trichiura (1.3%) and infection with more than one parasite (1.3%) (Table 1)
Summary
Intestinal parasitic infections caused by protozoa and helminths are globally endemic and have been described as constituting the greatest single worldwide cause of illness and disease (Chan, 1997; Pillai and Kain, 2003). Intestinal parasitic infections have a worldwide distribution with high prevalence found in people with low socio-economic status and poor living conditions as well as people in over-crowded areas with poor environmental sanitation, improper garbage disposal, unsafe water supply and unhygienic personal habits (Adamu et al, 2006; NoorAzian et al, 2007). These factors are the causes of a major proportion of the burden of diseases and deaths in developing countries (Adamu et al, 2006).
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