African Journal of Infectious Diseases Research ISSN 2756-3340 Vol. 8 (7), pp. 001-004, July, 2022. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis among school age children in Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria

EGWUNYENGA, O. ANDY¹ and ATAIKIRU, D. PALMER²

¹Department of Zoology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.

²Parasitology Laboratory, Baptist Medical Centre, Eku, Delta State, Nigeria.

Accepted 23 June, 2022

Abstract

The prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminth infections and their relationship to anthropometric indices of 1,351 school children from Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria were evaluated. 739 (54.70%) of the subjects were infected by soil- transmitted helminths (STH). The overall prevalences by species were Ascaris lumbricoides (48.41%), hookworms (29.76%), and Trichuris trichiura (17.39%). 174 (12.88%) were infected with two or more STHs. Males (60.81%) were generally more infected than females (43.30%), but this was only statistically significant among children aged 5 – 7 years. The mean number of eggs per gram of faeces (epg) was generally low. Analysis of epg for each species indicated that 7.8, 7.60 and 1.70% of the subjects had high intensity of infections for Ascaris, hookworms and Trichuris, respectively. There was no relationship between intensity of infections and wasting, while children with high intensity of infections were more stunted than others.

Key words: Soil-transmitted helminths ,school-age, children, nigeria,prevalence.