Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections among School Children of Dadeldhura District, Nepal

Abstract

Intestinal parasitic infestations are a common finding in the developing world, however, the patterns of parasitic distribution and rates are different elsewhere. The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation and chemical analysis of stool sample of the school children of age group 4-12 years in Dadeldhura district, far western region of Nepal. Out of 530 stool samples, 165 (31.13%) were found to be intestinal parasites positive. Among the total parasites, Hymenolepsis nana (46.56%) and Giardia lamblia (7.47%) were found in high prevalence as helmiths and protozoa respectively. Among the total stool samples 159 (30%) showed positive occult blood test. The prevalence of parasitic infection was found high in the children of age group 4-6 years (38.18%) than others though the result was not significant statistically (P>0.05). Highest prevalence of parasites was found in those not following the hygienic conditions (36.17%) than those following (18.83%). Similarly, high proportion of the parasites were found in children having gastrointestinal symptoms (49.23%) than in children without the gastrointestinal symptoms (13.70%) though the result was not significant statistically (P>0.05). The study showed the children using the water directly from the source had higher prevalence of parasites (32.13%) than those using treated water (14.28%). This study presents the high prevalence of stool parasites in school going children of Dadeldhura district. Key words: Parasitic infection, School children, Stool samples, Dadeldhura, Nepal.