Background: Geophagy is wide spread among pregnant women in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess intestinal nematode infections among geophagous pregnant women in Southern Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

Methods: Pregnant women were aged 17-45 years at gestational ages of ≥ 14 to 24 weeks on hospital enrolment were sampled. Data on geophagy was collected using structured questionnaire. Gastrointestinal nematode status of the participants was determined by stool analyses. Soil types ingested were examined for intestinal nematode ova / larvae.

Results: The prevalence of geophagy (46.4%) was associated with socio-demographic characteristics. and hookworm were associated with geophagy while and had no association. Prevalence of and differed significantly (p<0.05) between geophagous and non-geophagous women. The soil types consumed had eggs / larvae of and . Geophagy is a risk behaviour directly associated with , hookworm, , and to a lesser extent infection among pregnant women.

Conclusion: Sensitization and mass education of pregnant women on the dangers of geophagy is needed. Furthermore, deworming of pregnant women should be integrated into the healthcare delivery system of the State.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5636248PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v17i1.5DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

pregnant women
16
gastrointestinal nematode
8
nematode infections
8
ebonyi state
8
intestinal nematode
8
geophagy
5
geophagy risk
4
risk behaviour
4
behaviour gastrointestinal
4
nematode
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!