Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections and Risk Factors among Primary School Children in Amai, Delta State, Nigeria

The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiology of intestinal parasites and determine the risk factors linked to infection among primary school children in the Amai community. The research was conducted with 778 students from May to November 2017. Stool samples were obtained and tested for intestinal parasites using the direct smear (wet mount) technique, demographic and epidemiological information were obtained using well-structured questionnaires and the statistical analysis was carried out using Microsoft Excel and GraphPad Prism. The study showed that 338 (43.4%) were females while 440 (56.6%) were male with a total of 596 (76.6%) pupils found to harbour one or more intestinal parasitic infections. Eight species of intestinal parasites which include Ascaris lumbricoides (38.7%), Entamoeba histolytica (18.3%), Entamoeba coli (11.1%), Giardia intestinalis (8.7%), Trichuris trichiura (12.5%), Endolimax nana (4.9%), Hookworm (4.2%) and Strongyloides stercoralis (1.6%) were identified with single parasitic infection of 61.6%, double parasitisism of 34.6% and multiple parasitism of 2.9%. The prevalence of intestinal parasites differed significantly between boys (78.2%) and girls (74.6%) [P= 0.04885]. Pupils in age group 9-11 had the highest prevalent rate (45.2%) while age group ≥12 had the lowest prevalent rate (12.4%). Variables like parent occupation, distance to dumpsite, source of drinking water, type of toilet facility among others were found to be significant risk factors for intestinal parasitic infections. There was a significant prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among children in the Amai community. Thus, improvement in sanitation, proper hygienic practices, and provision of potable water will help in reducing the transmission of intestinal parasitic infections in the study community.