Prevalence, intensity of infection and associated risk factors of soil-transmitted helminth infections among school children at Tachgayint woreda, Northcentral Ethiopia.

Background: Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are one of the most common infections affecting underprivileged populations in low- and middle-income countries. Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm are the three main species that infect people. School children are the most vulnerable groups for STH infections due to their practice of walking and playing barefoot, poor personal hygiene, and environmental sanitation. However, evidence is limited in the study area. So, this study aimed to assess the current prevalence, infection intensity, and associated risk factors of STHs among school children in Tachgayint woreda, Northcentral Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among school children of Tachgayint woreda from February to May 2021. The study participants were chosen via systematic random sampling. Stool samples were collected from 325 children and examined using the Kato-Katz technique. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify the potential associated factors for STHs. An adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to measure the magnitude of the association. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The overall prevalence of STHs in this study was 36.0% (95% CI: 30.5-41.2%). Ascaris lumbricoides are the most prevalent species 89 (27.4%) followed by hookworm 14 (4.3%) and Trichuris trichiura 10 (3.1%). All of the infected school children had light-intensity of infections with the mean of eggs per gram (EPG) being 464.53. Lack of shoe wearing habit (AOR = 4.08, 95% CI: 1.29-12.88) and having untrimmed fingernail (AOR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.06-3.22) were identified as risk factors for STH infections.

Conclusions: More than one-third of the school children were infected with at least one STH species and this indicates that STHs are still a health problem among school children in the study area. Therefore, periodic deworming, implementation of different prevention strategies, and health education programs should be regularly applied in the area.