Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Beside Aino Mena Town, District 10, Durahi, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Head of Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Kandahar University, Kandahar, Afghanistan.
BMC Infect Dis. 2022 Apr 11;22(1):361. doi: 10.1186/s12879-022-07336-z.
Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are still a major health problem, especially in resource-limited countries. The community-based prevalence of STH is unknown in Afghanistan. Main objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of STH among children in Daman district of Kandahar province in Afghanistan.
This was a community-based cross-sectional study, with data collected during five months (June-October, 2020) from children living in five villages of Daman district in Kandahar, Afghanistan. All the stool samples were examined by saline wet mount method. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Chi square test, and multivariate logistic regression.
A total of 1426 children were studied, with majority (61.8%) of males and the mean age of 6.3 years. The overall prevalence of any intestinal parasitic infection was 39.8%. The overall prevalence of STH infection was 22.7%, with Ascaris lumbricoides (18.7%) as the most prevalent STH species, followed by hookworm (7.5%) and Trichuris trichiura (1.4%). Single, double, and triple STH infections were present in 14.9%, 7.2%, and 0.6% of the children, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that not washing hands after defecating/before eating (AOR 7.0, 95% CI 3.4-14.0), living in mud house (AOR 3.5, 95% CI 1.6-7.4), walking barefoot (AOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.6-3.1), living in overcrowded house (AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.3), and practicing open defecation (AOR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-2.0) as the risk factors associated with the predisposition of rural children for getting STH in Daman district of Afghanistan.
Prevalence of STH is high among children of Daman district in Afghanistan. Most of the risk factors are related to poverty, decreased sanitation, and improper hygiene. Improvement of socioeconomic status, sanitation, and health education to promote public awareness about health and hygiene together with periodic mass deworming programs are better strategies for the control of STH infections in Afghanistan. Also, government and international donor agencies in Afghanistan should help in improving socio-economic status of the rural areas through provision of basic facilities such as piped water, electricity, good housing, and proper toilets.
土壤传播的蠕虫（STH）感染仍然是一个主要的健康问题，特别是在资源有限的国家。阿富汗社区内 STH 的流行情况尚不清楚。本研究的主要目的是估计阿富汗坎大哈省 Daman 区儿童的 STH 患病率及其相关因素。
这是一项基于社区的横断面研究，于 2020 年 6 月至 10 月期间在阿富汗坎大哈的 Daman 区的五个村庄中收集了数据。所有粪便样本均通过盐水湿片法进行检查。使用描述性统计、卡方检验和多变量逻辑回归分析数据。
共研究了 1426 名儿童，其中大多数（61.8%）为男性，平均年龄为 6.3 岁。总的肠道寄生虫感染率为 39.8%。总的 STH 感染率为 22.7%，其中最常见的 STH 物种是蛔虫（18.7%），其次是钩虫（7.5%）和鞭虫（1.4%）。单、双和三重 STH 感染分别存在于 14.9%、7.2%和 0.6%的儿童中。多变量逻辑回归显示，便后/饭前不洗手（AOR 7.0，95%CI 3.4-14.0）、居住在土坯房（AOR 3.5，95%CI 1.6-7.4）、赤脚行走（AOR 2.2，95%CI 1.6-3.1）、居住在拥挤的房屋（AOR 1.6，95%CI 1.1-2.3）和露天排便（AOR 1.4，95%CI 1.1-2.0）是与阿富汗 Daman 区农村儿童易患 STH 相关的危险因素。
阿富汗 Daman 区儿童的 STH 患病率很高。大多数危险因素与贫困、卫生条件差和卫生习惯不良有关。改善社会经济地位、改善卫生条件和开展卫生健康教育以提高公众对健康和卫生的认识，以及定期开展大规模驱虫活动，是控制阿富汗 STH 感染的更好策略。此外，阿富汗政府和国际捐助机构应通过提供管道供水、电力、良好的住房和适当的厕所等基本设施，帮助改善农村地区的社会经济地位。
