Soil-transmitted helminthiasis: A neglected tropical disease among urban slum dwelling school-aged children of a sub-Saharan African city

The Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal
Ijeoma Onyinye OhucheBede C Ibe

Abstract

The need to generate a robust epidemiological data on the neglected tropical diseases is imperative, in order to encourage access to formal care, drive public policies and ensure the allocation of resources by policy-makers. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) and its association with nutritional variables among primary school pupils living in urban slums in a South-Eastern sub-Saharan African city of Enugu, Nigeria. The stool samples of school-aged children living in urban slums were analyzed for ova of the helminths using the Kato-Katz methods, whereas the nutritional assessment (weight and height) was obtained and analyzed to indicate acute or chronic malnutrition. Degrees of helminthic load were then classified. The socioeconomic status was determined while the prevalence of STH and the relationship between it and the nutritional stratus was assessed to ascertain any significance between being malnourished and having STH as this will inform policy decisions. There were a total of 371 analyzed stool samples from 228 females (61.5%) and 143 males (38.5%), with 285 (76.8%) from the lowest socioeconomic class. The prevalence of STH was 18.1%, while that of acute an...Continue Reading

References

Aug 21, 2013·PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·Ana Lourdes SanchezTheresa W Gyorkos
Jun 27, 2018·The Pan African Medical Journal·Obianuju IgbokweKenechukwu Iloh

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Citations

Oct 7, 2021·Journal of Community Psychology·Nwachukwu Chinedu UgwunnaAdaorah Rapuluchukwu Onuorah

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