Prevalence of intestinal parasites among school children in Moyo district, Uganda.

Abstract

Faecal samples from 94 schoolchildren of five primary schools in Moyo subcounty, West Nile, were examined by concentration method. Forty pupils, 22 boys and 18 girls were found infested with one or a combination of intestinal parasites. Hookworm affected 12.8% of the children examined followed by Schistosomiasis (9.6%), and Ascaris spp. was the least infestation (4.3%). The factors that favoured parasitic infestation could include climate, poor sanitation, poverty and lack of awareness about the outcomes of parasitic infestation. Having identified the most common human parasites in schoolchildren, this study provides the public health personnel and school administrators in the district with the information needed to refocus their performance and integrate parasite screening and control in their school health activities. In addition, the results could be extrapolated to reflect the situation in other areas with similar eco-epidemiological dynamics, in order to enable the designing of critical control strategies with minimal budgetary inputs.