Common Intestinal Helminthes Associated With Nursery and Primary School Pupils in Dukku Town

Abstract

Intestinal worm infection is one of the most common causes of illness affecting the performance of pupils due to the child’s inability to come to school or due to pains inflicted by such infections. Stool samples were collected from 300 hundred school children (who consented in the study) aged 6-12. The stool samples were analysed for worm segments, helminths eggs and larvae using standard methods. Other information was collected using a structured questionnaire designed for this study. The results showed that Ascaris lumbricoides 27(57.4%) was the most predominant, followed by Trichuris trichuria [12(25.5%)] and hookworm [8(17.0%)] was the least prevalent. Location-specific prevalence showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in the acquisition of helminths. Most of the Children from the semi-urban area that are attending public schools (21.8%) had higher prevalence than their counterparts in the more urban area who are attending private schools (10.1%). Children who had pond (24.5%) and well (19.4%) as their sources of portable water had higher prevalence than their counterparts with bore-hole water (09.9%) and tap water (2.0%). Children who had pit (26.7%) as their type of toilet had higher prevalence than their counterparts with water closet (12.9%). Children whose parents were traders (20.9%) and farmers (18.0%) had a higher prevalence than their counterparts whose parents were civil servants (10.7%). The ages and sexes of subjects showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in the acquisition of helminths in the study. This study has shown that intestinal helminths are still prevalent among primary school-aged children; especially in the rural areas. Therefore, we would like to recommend routine examination of stool of all Primary school children and call on the relevant governmental agencies to consider Health Posts in Nursery/Primary Schools. However, further study is advocated.