Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among school children in capital areas of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, West Africa.

Afr Health Sci

Department of Molecular Parasitology and Tropical Diseases, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Master Program in Global Health and Development, College of Public Health and Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; International Master/PhD Program in Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Published: September 2016

AI Article Synopsis

  • Despite deworming efforts in Sao Tome and Principe since 2005, a study found a high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections (64.7%) among school children in the capital area.
  • The study involved 252 children, with no significant difference in infection rates between boys (67.8%) and girls (61.8%), and identified 12 different species of parasites.
  • Recommendations to combat this issue include better detection methods, improved sanitation, personal hygiene practices, and the use of combined drug treatments.

Article Abstract

Background: Although the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe (DRSTP) has undertaken school children-based deworming programs against intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) using a single dose of mebendazole annually since 2005, it remains unclear as to the outcome to date. The present study intends to investigate the recent IPIs status among school children living in capital areas of the DRSTP.

Methods: A total of 252 school children (121 boys and 131 girls) of grades 4 and 5 from 4 primary schools located in the capital areas participated in the present study and their fresh fecal specimens were examined for the presence of any parasites using the merthiolate-iodine-formaldehyde concentration method as conducted.

Results: The overall prevalence of IPIs was 64.7% (163/ 252). No significant gender difference in prevalence between boys (67.8%) and girls (61.8%) was found (p = 0.3). The majority of school children were infected with a single species of parasite (55.8%). Altogether, 12 different intestinal parasite species were identified in DRSTP school children, of which 9 species were pathogenic and the remaining 3 were non-pathogenic.

Conclusion: Improving the detection method, sanitation facilities and personal hygiene as well as utilizing combined drugs are all important measures to greatly reduce IPIs in DRSTP school children.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5112002PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v16i3.8DOI Listing

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