Effects of public health interventions on intestinal parasitic infections among school-going children in Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

BACKGROUND
WHO indicates that intestinal parasitic infections form at least of a quarter of all human infections globally, affecting at least 2 billion people. School-going children are the worst affected by these infections with devastating effect on their growth and cognitive development. Following the WHO recommendation to control intestinal parasitic infections by deworming children in schools, the Government of Kenya rolled out School Deworming Program under the School Health Program in 2009. Despite the program, the prevalence of intestinal helminthic and protozoan infections remain high at 53.5% and 14.8% respectively. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effects of Public Health intervention on intestinal parasitic infections among school going children in Murang’a County, Kenya.
MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES
Reduction of intestinal protozoan and helminthic infections among the pupils in the intervention group.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Six schools randomly selected from the County were assigned into intervention and control arms. Stool samples were collected before from four hundred (400) pupils from both the intervention and control arms. Stool samples were prepared using standard procedures and examined under light microscope to identify intestinal protozoa and helminthes. Public health interventions were implemented in the intervention arm, then stool samples tested again and a comparison of the prevalence compared between the intervention and control arms.
RESULTS
In the intervention schools, there was a significant reduction of intestinal protozoan from 55.1% to 6.0% (t=12.6, P=0.13), and of intestinal helminthic infections from 12.4% to 0.0% (t = -3.78, P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
This has led to the conclusion that public health interventions influenced the reduction of the prevalence of intestinal parasites.