article · BMC Public Health
A cross-sectional study in Debre Berhan town, Northeast Ethiopia, examined the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and associated behavioural and cultural risk factors among 645 primary schoolchildren aged 6 to 15 years. Stool analysis revealed that 52.9 percent of the children carried one or more parasites, with helminth infections outnumbering protozoan infections. The most common organisms detected were Ascaris lumbricoides, Entamoeba species, and Hymenolepis nana. Statistically significant risk factors included younger child age, larger family size, lower parental education, and parental manual or urban farming occupations. Key behavioural and cultural practices tied to higher infection rates included playing with soil or wastewater, sucking fingers, eating while playing, unwashed hands, proximity to open defecation sites, and the cultural custom of cleaning and consuming dropped food. The findings highlight the need for improved sanitation and targeted hygiene education.
Intestinal parasites remain a persistent public health problem in developing regions, threatening child health and development. By identifying specific local risk factors, including cultural habits such as eating dropped food, public health authorities and community organisations can design targeted health education, sanitation improvements, and school-based hygiene interventions to reduce infection rates effectively.
The abstract does not indicate an application pathway or commercial product, as it focuses on epidemiological baseline data to inform public health, sanitation, and hygiene education programmes.
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BACKGROUND: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are still among the major public health issues in developing countries. Assessing the prevalence of IPIs and potential risk factors in different localities is essential to enhance control strategies. To date, no prevalence assessment study was conducted in Debre Berhan town. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of IPIs and associated habit and culture-related risk factors among primary schoolchildren in Debre Berhan town, Northeast Ethiopia. METHOD: School based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2017. A total of 645 children aged 6-15 years were selected from six primary schools in Debre Berhan town via a multistage random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data about sociodemographic and potential risk factor variables. Fresh stool samples were collected from each child and examined using direct smear and formal-ether concentration technique. RESULT: Among the 645 children participated in the study, 341 (52.9%) were infected by one or more intestinal parasites. Helminths (33.8%) were more prevalent than protozoa (20%). Double parasitic infection rate was 0.9%. The predominant parasites were Ascaris lumbricoides (22.6%), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii (18.1%) and Hymenolepis nana (5.7%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that age of child (6-9 years), family size (above 5), mother's illiteracy and primary education, father's illiteracy, urban-farmer father, manual-worker father, not washing hands before eating, unclean fingers, open defecation site (ODS) near residence, latrine type, cultural response to dropped food (cleaning and eating; 'kiss and replace'), habit of playing with waste water, habit of playing with soil, habit of sucking fingers and habit of eating when playing were significantly associated with IPIs (p< 0.05). Likewise, age (6-9 years), mother's illiteracy, urban-farmer father, not washing hands before eating, ODS near residence, tradition of cleaning and eating dropped food, habit of playing with soil, sucking fingers and eating when playing were identified as significant risk factors of A. lumbricoides infection. CONCLUSION: High prevalence of IPIs among the study participants demands improvement of environmental sanitation, personal hygiene, and health education regarding the potential habit and culture-related risk factors.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-10148-y
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