Study on Intestinal Helminthoses and the Efficacy of Anthelminthoses Drugs among School Children in Girei Local Government Area, Adamawa State

Abstract

Intestinal helminthoses have adverse effects on the physical and mental development in poorly nourished community populations. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of helminthoses and to evaluate the efficacy of two antihelminthoses drugs (albendazole and levamisole) among school aged pupils in Girei local government area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. A total of 384 primary school pupils were randomly selected from six public primary schools in Girei local government area of Adamawa state. Statistical tools used for data collection was a structured questionnaire, while simple percentages and chi-square test of association were used for data analysis with the help of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 26. Clean plastic containers were distributed to the participants at enrollment with detailed instructions about the procedure for stool specimen collection. All stool samples were collected early in the morning and conserved in ice boxes before transportation to the laboratory. Each specimen was examined for the presence of intestinal parasitic organisms by the concentration techniques and kato-katz was used for egg count. The age specific prevalence were 21.1% among pupils with age 6-9 years, 17.1% among pupils with age ≥10 years and 10.4% among the youngest children ≤ 5years of age.

Keywords:  Intestinal Helmnthosis, Efficacy; Anthelminthic; Drugs