Butare University Teaching Hospital, Huye, Rwanda.
Medical Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
BMC Public Health. 2019 Aug 29;19(1):1192. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7481-y.
Tungiasis is a relatively frequent ectoparasitosis in low-income settings, yet its morbidity and social impact are still not well understood due to the scarcity of information. In Rwanda, data on the magnitude and conditions leading to the tungiasis is rare. This study sought to determine the prevalence and factors associated with tungiasis among primary school children in Rwandan setting.
A descriptive cross-sectional study utilising systematic random sampling method was adopted to select 384 children from three primary schools. From July to October 2018, data were collected on socio-demographic characteristics of children, parents, and households. Logistic regression was applied to analyse socio-demographic factors associated with tungiasis with a level of significance set at P-value< 0.05.
Prevalence of tungiasis among three primary schools was 23%. Factors associated with tungiasis included walking barefoot (AOR: 78.41; 95% CI: 17.91-343.10), irregular wearing of shoes (AOR: 24.73; 95% CI: 6.27-97.41), having dirty feet (AOR: 12.69; 95% CI: 4.93-32.64), wearing dirty clothes (AOR: 12.69; 95% CI: 4.18-38.50), and living in a house with earthen plastered floor (AOR: 28.79; 95% CI: 7.11-116.57). Children infected with tungiasis attended class less frequently (AOR: 19.16, 95%CI: 7.20-50.97) and scored lower (AOR: 110.85, 95%CI: 43.08-285.20) than those non-infected. The low school attendance and poor performance could be partly explained by difficulty of walking, lack of concentration during school activities, and isolation or discrimination from classmates.
Tungiasis was a public health challenge among school going children in a rural Rwandan setting. This study revealed that children affected with tungiasis had poor hygiene, inadequate housing environments and consequently poor school attendance and performance. Improving socio-economic conditions of households with special emphasis on hygiene of family members and housing conditions, would contribute to preventing tungiasis.
在低收入环境中，麦地那龙线虫病是一种相对常见的外寄生虫病，但由于信息匮乏，其发病率和社会影响仍不为人知。在卢旺达，有关麦地那龙线虫病的规模和导致该病的条件的数据很少。本研究旨在确定卢旺达小学儿童中麦地那龙线虫病的流行情况和相关因素。
采用描述性横断面研究，利用系统随机抽样法从三所小学中选取 384 名儿童。2018 年 7 月至 10 月，收集儿童、家长和家庭的社会人口统计学特征数据。采用 logistic 回归分析与麦地那龙线虫病相关的社会人口统计学因素，显著性水平设为 P 值<0.05。
三所小学的麦地那龙线虫病患病率为 23%。与麦地那龙线虫病相关的因素包括赤脚行走（OR：78.41；95%CI：17.91-343.10）、不定期穿鞋（OR：24.73；95%CI：6.27-97.41）、足部脏污（OR：12.69；95%CI：4.93-32.64）、穿着脏衣服（OR：12.69；95%CI：4.18-38.50）以及居住在土坯房屋（OR：28.79；95%CI：7.11-116.57）。感染麦地那龙线虫的儿童上课频率较低（OR：19.16，95%CI：7.20-50.97），成绩较低（OR：110.85，95%CI：43.08-285.20）。这可能部分是由于行走困难、在校活动时注意力不集中以及与同学隔离或歧视。
在卢旺达农村地区，麦地那龙线虫病是在校儿童的一个公共卫生挑战。本研究表明，感染麦地那龙线虫病的儿童卫生习惯较差，住房环境较差，因此上学出勤率和成绩较差。改善家庭的社会经济条件，特别要注意家庭成员的卫生和住房条件，有助于预防麦地那龙线虫病。
