Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Intestinal Parasites among Children under Five Years of Age Attended at Bachuma Primary Hospital, West Omo Zone, Southwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: Journal of Tropical Medicine
• Main Authors: Tadesse Duguma, Teshale Worku, Samuel Sahile, Daniel Asmelash
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2023
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/2268554; https://doaj.org/article/5e9cb35f2ffc44afa975d50748fa7ce6

Background. In regions of the world with low resources, such as Ethiopia, intestinal parasite diseases are still highly prevalent, especially in children. Poor personal and environmental hygiene, as well as unsafe and low-quality drinking water, are the main causes of this. This investigation aimed to determine the frequency of intestinal parasites and risk factors among children under 5 years age at Bachuma Primary Hospital in 2022. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from October 2022 to December 2022 at Bachuma Primary Hospital, West Omo Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Stool sample was collected from randomly selected children who were ordered to have their stool examined at the hospital laboratory and wet mount was prepared using normal saline to detect the different stage of intestinal parasites microscopically. Moreover, data related to the sociodemographic and associated risk factors was collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were computed to describe the characteristics of the study participants and determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites. Data were entered into Epi-data manager and analysed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) version 25.0, respectively. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, with variables with a p value of <0.05 considered statistically significant. Result: Infection with at least one intestinal parasite among children was 29.4% (95% CI: 24.5–34.7). Ascaris lumbricoide and Giardia lamblia were responsible for 8% (26/323) and 4% (13/323) of the prevalence of helminth and protozoans, respectively. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that children whose residence was rural had an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 5.048 (p=0.001), those who did not wash their hands before meals had an AOR of 7.749 (p=0.001), a child with not trimmed fingernails had an AOR of 2.752 (p=0.010), a child who frequently experienced stomach pain and whose source of water was pond had an AOR ...