Low prevalence of intestinal helminth infections among primary school children in Tengrela, northern Cô€te d’Ivoire

Abstract

Intestinal helminthiasis are endemic in Côte d’Ivoire and represent a real health problem because of health burden particularly in children. In order to eliminate the disease as a public health problem the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene has been implementing mass drug administration in primary schools since 2012. Five years later, a cross-sectional study (October 2016 to January 2017) was conducted among 515 primary school children aged 4-15 in the department of Tengrela to estimate the prevalence of intestinal helminthiasis and to identify the species causing these parasite infections in order to develop preventive measure. Single stool samples were analysed using the direct smear in saline solution and Kato-Katz techniques. The overall intestinal helminths prevalence was 3.3% (CI 95% = 2.0-5.1). Hookworms (1.0%) and, Trichiuris trichiura (1.0%) were the predominante parasites followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (0.8%), and Hymenolepis nana (0.6%). No polyparasitism case was noted. Walking bare feet was associated to the occurrence of the parasitism (p=0.015). However, gender, age, the faecal disposal system and the mode of drinking water supply were not linked to the intestinal parasitism (p>0.05). The intestinal helminthiasis among primary school children in Tengrela are dominated by the hookworm Trichuris trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides infections. It is important to provide health education for wearing shoes to avoid infection of skin-penetrators. Interventions aimed to improve sanitation access should be highlighted in the recommendations for the control of intestinal helminthiasis.

Keywords: Intestinal helminthiasis; school children; Tengrela; Côte d’Ivoire