Aemiro Aleka, Menkir Sissay, Girma Abayeneh
Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Mekdela Amba University, Tulu Awuliya, Ethiopia.
Department of Biology, College of Science, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Environ Health Insights. 2024 Apr 14;18:11786302241245851. doi: 10.1177/11786302241245851. eCollection 2024.
Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are among the most common infections that affect the poorest and most deprived communities. In most developing countries, children aged 5 to 15 years are at risk for chronic helminth infection and associated morbidity. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of STH infections and associated risk factors among three government elementary schools in Dembecha town, Ethiopia. We conducted a school-based cross-sectional study involving 316 participants between November 2019 and March 2020. A systematic random sampling method was used to select study participants from the study schools. Data related to the sociodemographic characteristics of the study participants and risk factors for STH infections were collected using a pretested questionnaire survey. Parasitological examinations of stool samples were performed using the formal-ether concentration method. Study participants aged 5 to 15 years were enrolled in this study. The overall prevalence of STH infection was 21.5% (68/316). ranked highest, with a prevalence of 11.4%, followed by hookworms 7.3%, 1.9%, and 0.9%. Age groups of 10-15 years (AOR =3.109; 95% CI: 1.033, 9.350), residence in Kebele 2 (AOR =2.990; 95% CI: 1.082, 8.264), illiterate mothers (AOR =4.689; 95% CI: 1.410, 15.59), and a family size of 4-6 (AOR =3.286; 95% CI: 1.299, 8.313) were significantly associated with STH infections. The prevalence of STH infections remains an important health issue for study participants. Therefore, school deworming programs twice a year are crucially needed until the prevalence falls below the level of public health importance.
土壤传播的蠕虫（STH）感染是影响最贫困和最弱势群体的最常见感染之一。在大多数发展中国家，5至15岁的儿童面临慢性蠕虫感染及相关发病风险。本研究旨在确定埃塞俄比亚登贝查镇三所政府小学中STH感染的患病率及相关危险因素。2019年11月至2020年3月，我们开展了一项基于学校的横断面研究，涉及316名参与者。采用系统随机抽样方法从研究学校中选取研究参与者。通过预先测试的问卷调查收集与研究参与者的社会人口学特征及STH感染危险因素相关的数据。粪便样本的寄生虫学检查采用甲醛-乙醚浓缩法。本研究纳入了5至15岁的研究参与者。STH感染的总体患病率为21.5%（68/316）。 患病率最高，为11.4%，其次是钩虫7.3%， 1.9%，以及 0.9%。10至15岁年龄组（调整后比值比[AOR]=3.109；95%置信区间[CI]：1.033，9.350）、居住在凯贝勒2区（AOR =2.990；95% CI：1.082，8.264）、母亲为文盲（AOR =4.689；95% CI：1.410，15.59）以及家庭规模为4至6人（AOR =3.286；95% CI：1.299，8.313）与STH感染显著相关。STH感染的患病率对研究参与者来说仍然是一个重要的健康问题。因此，在患病率降至公共卫生重要性水平以下之前，每年两次的学校驱虫计划至关重要。
