Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Diseases and its impact on Haemoglobin level among School Children at Belbis District Sharkia

Introduction Intestinal parasitic infestations are amongst the most common infections in children worldwide. Epidemiological research carried out in different countries has shown that the social and economical situation of the individuals is an important cause in the prevalenceofintestinalparasites. Objectives of the study: To estimate the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation among school children 6 to 15 years at Basatin Barakat village Belbis district, Sharkia Governorate.To assess the relation between intestinal parasitic infections and the socio-demographic, environmental factors and habits among the studied group of children. To determine the effect of parasitic infestations on the level of hemoglobin and on body mass index of the infected group of children Materials &Methods: Across- sectional study was carried out using Multistage cluster sampling of two primary schools & one preparatory school selected randomly. The sample included 600 school children from Basatin Barakat village, Belbis district, Sharkia Governorate. The study tools included; a questionnaire sheet which was filled through interview form each child, followed by general examination, some anthropometric measurements weight, height haemoglobin level (Hb%) and stool analysis Results: The number of parasitologically infected children was (326) cases which constitute (54.3%) of the total cases examined. The percentage of parasites infestation among the studied school children in relation to type were Enterobius vermicularis(20.8%),Entameoba histolytica (12.6%), Hymenolepis nana (9.8%),Ascaris lumbricoides (6.6%),Giardia lamblia (5.6%),Ankylostoma duodenale (4.5%).And this study revealed that 68.7% of infested children are anaemic. 77.1% of the infested children within the age group (612ys) & 52.6 % of the infested children within the age group (12-15ys) are anaemic. This study revealed that children with high socioeconomic standard are the least infested (4.6%) than others Conclusions: The present study revealed that the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestations among the studied schoolchildren during the academic year 2010-2011 at Basatin Barakat village was 54.3%. It was found that Enterobiusvermicularis(20.8%),Entameobahistolytica (12.6%), Hymenolepis nana (9.8%),Ascarislumbricoides (6.6%),Giardia lamblia (5.6%),Ankylostomaduodenale (4.5%) were the commonest intestinal parasitic infestations among the studied school children.