PREVALENCE OF INTESTINAL HELMINTHES AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN BOSSO, NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

Introduction: This study investigated the prevalence of intestinal helminthes among primary school children of Bosso Town, North Central Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Fecal samples from 250 pupils were examined microscopically using formol ether concentration technique. Result: Out of the total 250 samples analyzed, 115 (46%) were found to be infected. The breakdown of the prevalence of helminthes infection showed that Ascaris lumbricoides had 41(16.4%) followed by Strongyloides stercoralis 36(14.4%) as well as Hookworm 22(0.09%), and Trichuris trichuria 16(0.07%). Single species infection was seen in 78(67.8%) of the infected children while 47(40.9%) had mixed infections. The prevalence of infection peaked in the age group (9-10) years in both male (53.5%) and female (46.3%) respectively. Conclusion: The high prevalence recorded was found to be related to poverty, ignorance and poor environmental sanitation.


Introduction
Parasitic diseases are common in the developing countries and constitute a major public health challenge because of their high prevalence rate and their effect on both nutritional and immune status of the population 1 . In Africa, infection with parasitic helminthes is often recognized as one of the important public health problems, because in a world of 2,200 million of inhabitants; there existed 2,000 million helminthes infections with about 15 million Nigerians suffering from Ascariasis alone while there are several thousand with Strongyloidiasis, trichiuriasis, enterobiasis, hookworm and tapeworm infections 2 . Among the parasitic infections, helminthes infections are the most common in the northern part of Nigeria 3 . Helminthiasis can have immuno-modulatory effects on the host 4 with implications for any co-infecting pathogens. Helminthiases are common in regions where poverty and poor sanitary conditions prevail. Under such circumstances the incident rates may reach 90% 5 . Poor hygienic living conditions give rise to helminthes infections in children, with the prevalence of such infections being an excellent indicator of socioeconomic status. Among the effects associated with these parasites are growth retardation, intestinal obstruction, hepatic and biliary diseases, impaired cognitive development, and nutritional effects such as iron deficiency anemia. Intestinal parasites are transmitted through the contamination of water, soil, and food by feces, a direct consequence of poor hygienic and living conditions 6 . Intestinal Helminthiases are known to affect the health and academic performance of children in developing countries 6 . Young children pay heavily for some of the less well-known diseases, including infection with one or more of the soil-transmitted IJBAR (2011) 02 (12) www.ssjournals.com helminthes (STHs): Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), Trichuris trichuria (whipworm), and Ancylostoma duodenale/Necator americanus (hookworms). The poor sanitation/hygiene, lack of portable water, poverty and the ignorance in which the people live their lives predispose children in the study area to helminthes infections. There is therefore a need for a consistent investigation of cases regularly as a basis for credible intervention programmes, hence this study to evaluate the level of helminthes infection and the epidemiological factors among the primary school children in Bosso community.

Study Population:
The study population comprises of randomly selected primary school children attending some selected primary school in the abovenamed areas. A total number of 250 pupils comprising of 135 males and 115 females attending primary 3-6 and aged between 8-12 years were selected for this study. Informed consent was obtained from the parents of wards through the school managements.

Sample Collection:
Stool samples were collected from the subjects in a clean screwed capped container. Each sample was labeled appropriately and then transferred to the laboratory immediately for analysis.

Preparation of Sample:
Formol ether concentration technique was employed and the helminthes eggs, cyst, larvae observed were then identified with the aid of a chart 7 .

Statistical Analysis:
The data obtained were analyzed using chi-square to determine if there is a significant difference between the infected male and infected female.

Results:
In this study, 250 primary school children comprising of 135 males and 115 females were investigated for infection with helminthes. In all, 115 (46%) subjects were found to be infected. Ascaris lumbricoides had the highest prevalence rate (16.4%), followed by Strongyloides stercoralis (14.4%), Hookworm (0.09%) and Trichuris trichuria (0.06%). Total prevalence rates of 47.8% and 52.1% were observed for males and females respectively (table 1). Single species infection was seen in 78 (67.8%) of the infected children, whereas 47(40.9%) were co-infected with two or more species of helminthes. The prevalence rates of infection in both male and females peaked in the age group (8-10) years with 53.5% and 46.3% respectively. The distribution of infection in the four selected primary schools in relation to Sex and Age is shown in Tables 2-5 below.  (12) www.ssjournals.com The prevalence of infection peaked in the age group (8-10) years in both males and females with (53.5%) and (46.3%) respectively. There was no significant difference between the infected children in relation to age and sex except in Model primary school in Tundun Fulani. This present investigation on intestinal helminthiasis indicates that Ascaris lumbricoides, Strongyloides stercoralis, as well as Hookworm were more prevalent among the primary school children in Bosso community. and majority of these children with helminthes infections were from low socioeconomic group, with concomitant low hygiene practices and lack of portable water supply. Most of these children come from low income family with poor environmental sanitation and poor or no access to portable water for drinking and domestic use. These children depend on stream water and shallow well of low quality level as sources of drinking and domestic use. Most children from these communities based on lack of parental care spend most of their leisure time swimming, fishing and roaming about bare-footed. All of these are the factors predisposing the children of this community to helminthes infection.

Conclusion.
The present study reveals that intestinal helminthes are abundant among the primary school children of Bosso community. This situation strongly calls for the institution of control measures, including treatment of infected individuals, improvement of sanitation practices, and provision of clean water. It is recommended that the Federal and State Environmental Sanitation Programs should encourage personal and environmental hygiene throughout the nation through awareness campaigns.