Prevalence of intestinal parasites among patients attending two hospitals in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

Infectious intestinal parasites areone of the major health problems in developing countries and affect up to 3.5 billion people worldwide, with a population of 450million believed to be illdue to these infections. The study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites among patients attending two hospitals in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State, Nigeria, using direct smear and formol ether concentration techniques to process the fecal samples. A total of 426 patients comprised of 203 males and 223 females between the ages of 1 to 61 years and above had their fecal samples examined, out of which 181 patients (42.49%) were infected. Four species of parasites were encountered namely Ascaris lumbricoides (14.55%), Entamoeba coli (7.04%), Hookworm (1.64%), and Trichuristrichiura (0.94%). Mixed infections were also encountered. The combination of Ascaris lumbricoides (Al), Hookworm (HW) and Entamoeba coli (Ec) were the most common (7.98%). The female patients were more infected (45.74%) than the males (38.92%) but the difference was not statistically significant (P >0.05). Age groups 1-10 years recorded the highest prevalence of 63.26%. Chi-square analysis showed a significant association between infection prevalence and age groups and participants' occupation (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between infection prevalence and the two hospitals examined (P <0.05). There was a significant difference between environmental factors/behavioral habits of the respondents and their infection prevalence (P < 0.05). The most commonly used drug for treatment reported was Albendazole, (54.93%). The findings have provided a base line data on the prevalence of intestinal parasites among the inhabitants of the study area. Treatment of the infections through deworming can also improve the physical wellbeing of the patients. Proper washing of food items especially vegetables before eating is highly recommended.