Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia.
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2022 Apr 8;17(4):e0266333. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266333. eCollection 2022.
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.
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.
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.
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.
土壤传播的蠕虫（STH）是影响中低收入国家弱势群体最常见的感染之一。感染人体的主要物种有蛔虫、鞭虫和钩虫。由于赤脚行走、玩耍、个人卫生条件差和环境卫生差，在校儿童是 STH 感染的最脆弱群体。然而，在研究区域内，证据有限。因此，本研究旨在评估埃塞俄比亚中北部塔查因特瓦拉的在校儿童中 STH 的当前流行率、感染强度和相关危险因素。
2021 年 2 月至 5 月，对塔查因特瓦拉的在校儿童进行了横断面研究。通过系统随机抽样选择研究参与者。从 325 名儿童中采集粪便样本，并使用加藤厚涂片技术进行检查。使用 SPSS 版本 23 对数据进行分析。使用二元和多变量逻辑回归分析来确定 STH 的潜在相关因素。使用调整后的优势比（AOR）和 95%置信区间（CI）来衡量关联的程度。P 值<0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。
本研究中 STH 的总体流行率为 36.0%（95%CI：30.5-41.2%）。蛔虫最常见（89 例，27.4%），其次是钩虫（14 例，4.3%）和鞭虫（10 例，3.1%）。所有感染的在校儿童均为轻度感染，平均每克粪便虫卵数（EPG）为 464.53。未穿鞋习惯（AOR=4.08，95%CI：1.29-12.88）和未修剪指甲（AOR=1.85，95%CI：1.06-3.22）被确定为 STH 感染的危险因素。
超过三分之一的在校儿童感染了至少一种 STH 物种，这表明 STH 仍然是该研究区域在校儿童的健康问题。因此，应定期在该地区应用定期驱虫、实施不同的预防策略和健康教育计划。
