Abstract:
Background
Intestinal parasitosis is a major public health problem that affects the health of primary
school children in low- and middle-income countries where water, sanitation, and hygiene
(WASH) conditions are deficient. Since there is a paucity of information on the prevalence
and associated factors of this problem among primary school children in Dessie City in Ethiopia, this study was designed to address these gaps.
Methods
A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 407 stratified-sampled primary
school children in five primary schools at Dessie City from April to June 2018. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire, an observation checklist and laboratory
analysis of stool samples. Stool specimen from each study participant was collected using
clean, properly labeled and leak-proof stool cup. A portion of stool from each study participant collected sample was processed using saline wet mount technique and examined by microscope. The remaining specimens were preserved with 10% formalin and transported to Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital laboratory to be processed by using
formol-ether concentration technique. Then, slide smears were prepared from each processed stool specimen and finally, it was microscopically examined with 10x as well as 40x
objectives for the presence or absence of intestinal parasites. Factors significantly associated with intestinal parasitosis were determined using binary logistic regression model at
95% CI (confidence interval). Thus, bivariate (COR [crude odds ratio]) and multivariable
(AOR [adjusted odds ratio]) logistic regression analyses were carried out. From the multivariable analysis, variables having a p-value of less than 0.05 were declared as factors significantly associated with intestinal parasitosis among primary school children.
