Survey on the Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Primary School-aged Children in Primary schools in Plateau Central Senatorial District, Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) cause cosmopolitan public health problems in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. This study was conducted to Survey the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among primary school-aged children in primary schools in Plateau Central Senatorial District, Plateau State, Nigeria. An analytical cross-sectional descriptive research design was used to randomly collect stool samples from 25 randomly selected schools. All collected samples were immediately transported to Standard Medical Laboratory, Pankshin for analysis. Both direct smear method and concentration technique were used to recover parasite eggs from the stool sample. Out of 500 stool samples collected and analyzed, 355(71%) were positive for intestinal parasites. There was a significant association between the prevalence of specific species of intestinal parasites and primary school pupils in the Plateau Central senatorial district (χ2 = 659.590, df = 7, P = 0.000). There was a significant difference between the comparison of the occurrence of intestinal parasites and the local government areas (L.G.As)  (χ2 = 1447.09, df = 4, P = 0.000). There was also no significant difference between the preventive measures for intestinal parasite infections and the school children in Plateau Central senatorial district, Plateau State (χ2 = 6.765, df =. 3, P = 0.080). Schoolchildren should be enlightened on the need for proper WASH practices; personal hygiene and environmental sanitation both at home and at school as well as the provision of portable water sources.