The Prevalence And Socio-Economic Factors Of Intestinal Helminth Infections Among Primary School Pupils In Ozubulu, Anambra State, Nigeria
D EZEAGWUNA, I OKWELOGU, I EKEJINDU, C OGBUAGU
helminth, ozubulu, pupils
D EZEAGWUNA, I OKWELOGU, I EKEJINDU, C OGBUAGU. The Prevalence And Socio-Economic Factors Of Intestinal Helminth Infections Among Primary School Pupils In Ozubulu, Anambra State, Nigeria. The Internet Journal of Epidemiology. 2009 Volume 9 Number 1.
260 stool samples were randomly collected from pupils in four primary schools in Ozubulu, Anambra State. The samples were collected from pupils of both sexes whose ages ranged from 5-16 years old. Using formol- ether concentration method, the stool samples were processed. Questionnaires were also distributed to check for relationship between infection and occupation. 125 (48.08%) were positive for various intestinal helminthes with hookworm accounting for 66 (25.38%),
Helminth infections are the most common and infective agents of mankind and are responsible for morbidity and mortality throughout the developing world. The infection was ranked highest in morbidity rate among school aged children who often present with much heavy worm infections because of their vulnerability to nutritional deficiency (Bethony
In many developing countries, the only education children receive is primary school and this is the age when they are more severely infected by helminthes and may thwart the efforts of a country to provide basic school education especially in Nigeria where 70% of school-aged children are enrolled in primary schools (Ola and Oyeledun, 1999). These infections are widespread in Africa with high prevalence rate in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Angola, New Guinea, Rhodesia and Kenya (Muniz, 2008). Anosike
The main objective of this investigation is to determine the prevalence and relationship of parent’s occupation with helminthes infections in Ozubulu Town, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria.
Materials and Methods
Study Area: Ozubulu is a rural community situated about 25km East of Onitsha made up of four villages. The natural vegetation is mainly tropical rain forest and the inhabitants are mostly farmers. There are also traders and civil servants in the area. The streams closer to some of the primary schools were used as sources of drinking water, domestic activities and as refuse dumps. There are ten public schools in Ozubulu. Four out of the ten schools were randomly selected for the study.
Distribution of questionnaires: A simple primary school based questionnaire was distributed to the pupils to determine the name, age, sex, socio-economic background, and sanitation situation in their schools and homes.
Collection and examination of faecal samples: Wide mouthed transparent containers were given to 260 randomly selected pupils in the selected schools. The pupils were asked to take the containers home and return same the next morning to school with fresh voided stool samples. The name, age and sex of each pupil were noted after the samples have been collected and labeled. The samples were then transported to the laboratory for analysis using the formol ether concentration technique (Cheesbrough, 2000) as follows;
Formol Ether Concentration Technique: With an applicator stick, 1g of the stool sample was emulsified in 4ml of 10% formol ether contained in a tube. Additional 4ml of 10ml formol ether was added to the added to the tube and homogenized. The emulsified faeces was sieved and collected in a tube. The suspension was transferred to a centrifuge tube into which 4ml of diethyl ether was added. The tube was stoppered and mixed for 1minute. The stopper was loosened and the tube centrifuged at 1000g for 1 minute. After centrifuging, the faecal debris was loosened and decanted along with the ether and formol water leaving the sediment at the bottom of the tube. The bottom of the tube was then tapped to re-suspend and mix the sediment. The sediment was placed on the slide, covered with cover slip and examined microscopically (Cheesbrough, 2000).
Out of the 260 stool samples examined, 125 (48.08%) were positive for various intestinal helminth parasites and some pupils haboured mixed infections. This is distributed as follows; eggs of hookworm 66(25.38%), eggs of
The prevalence of helminth eggs with respect to schools were; Nza central School 45(69.23%), Egbema Community Primary School 30(46.15%), Eziora Central School 28(43.08%) and Amakwa Central School 22(33.85%) Prevalence of the infection is higher in females (55.47%) than in males (39.84%). Mixed infections were also observed, Table 2.
Table 3 shows that the prevalence rate of helminth parasites were higher among the 11-13 years age group 77(58.77%) with hookworm having the highest rate 42(32.06%) followed by
Fig 1 shows the distribution of intestinal helminth infections based on pupils’ parents’ occupation in the primary schools examined. Pupils whose parents’ are farmers had the prevalence of 73(59.84%), traders 20(46.51%) and civil servants 32(33.68%).
The results of this investigation revealed a 48.08% helminth content from the study group and this comprised of eggs of
Similar observations have been made from other parts of Nigeria (Adeyeba and Akinladi, 2002). Ozubulu is still a virgin area and no study on helminth infection has been done in this area. The pupils are hardly been dewormed thus attributing to the high prevalence of helminth eggs in the stool samples. The environment of this community and the socio-cultural habits of the people could be responsible for the high prevalence of intestinal helminth infections in this area. The highest infection was recorded in Nza Central School because there was no toilet facility in school premises and the pupils defaecate indiscriminately in the nearby bushes and around the school compound. Some of the pupils had mixed infection of
The finding that Hookworm has the highest prevalence rate is similar to what was reported by Aisen
The prevalence of hookworm and
There is a high prevalence among pupils whose parents’ occupation are farming. These children follow their parents to the farmland. This trend was also reported by Akogun and Badaki (1998).
The finding of this study supports the need for mass chemotherapy and community education and awareness in Ozubulu. This would reduce the worm burden, reduce contamination of the environment by these pupils and enable them perform better in schools. It is also necessary that public health promotion be stepped up. Parents and teachers should serve as role models and mentors so as to reduce helminth infection in particular and promote health in general.