Introduction- Intestinal protozoan infections continue to remain a global public health challenge, particularly in developing countries. Children are greatly prone to these infections via the ingestion of food, water or soil contaminated with the infective stage of these parasites. Objectives- This study focused on establishing the prevalence of intestinal protozoan infection among primary school children aged 5 to 12 years from six communities in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. Methods- A total of 2400 children were randomly selected sampled. Stool samples collected from the children were analyzed using the formol-ether concentration technique. The modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique was employed in the identification of Cryptosporidium parvum. Results- The overall prevalence of intestinal protozoan identified among the studied school children was 42.9%. Prevalence was significantly higher in males than females with rates of 51.0% (604/1162) and 30.8% (381/1238) respectively. The highest protozoan infestation was Giardia lamblia with a prevalence of 16.8% (195/1162) and 7.8 % (97/1238) in males and females respectively. Three pathogenic strains (Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and Cryptosporidium parvum) and four non-pathogenic species (Entamoeba coli, Endolimax nana, Chilomastix mesnili and Iodamoeba butschlii) were identified in the study. Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum recorded prevalence rates of 12.2% and 8.5% respectively. Prevalence was however proportional to age with respect to Endolimax nana and Iodamoeba butschlii infections. Conclusion- There is relatively high prevalence of intestinal protozoan infection among the studied children. This obviously suggests that there are possible household, school based and behaviour oriented risk factors which predispose the children to these parasites.
| Published in | Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12 |
| Page(s) | 52-57 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Intestinal Protozoan, Parasites, Pathogenic
| [1] | Gelaw A, Anagaw B, Nigussie B, Silesh B, Yirga A, Alem M, et al. Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and risk factors among schoolchildren at the University of Gondar Community School, Northwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2013; 13, 304. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-304. |
| [2] | Obala AA, Simiyu CJ, Odhiambo DO, Nanyu V, Chege P, Downing R, et al. Webuye Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems Baseline Survey of Soil-Transmitted Helminths and Intestinal Protozoa among Children up to Five Years. Journal of Tropical Medicine. 2013. Article ID 734562. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/734562. |
| [3] | Harhay MO, Horton J, Olliaro PL. Epidemiology and control of human gastrointestinal parasites in children. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2010; 8(2): 219-234. |
| [4] | Hotez PJ, Kamath A. Neglected tropical diseases in sub-saharan Africa: review of their prevalence, distribution, and disease burden. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 2009; 3(8): e412. |
| [5] | Carvalho-Costa FA, Goncalves AQ, Lassance SL, et al. Giardia lamblia and other intestinal parasitic infections and their relationships with nutritional status in children in Brazilian Amazon. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2007; 49(3): 147-53. |
| [6] | UNICEF/WHO. Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done. Geneva 27, Switzerland.2009. www.unicef.org/media/files/Final_Diarrhoea_Report_October_2009_final.pdf. |
| [7] | Schunk M, Jelinek T, Wetzek K, Nothdurff HD. Detection of Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica in Stool Samples by Two Enzyme Immunoassay. Eur. J. Clin. Microbial. Infect. Dis. 2001; 20: 389-391. |
| [8] | Balci YI, Turk M, Polat Y, Erbil N. The distribution of intestinal parasites among children in Denizli. Turkish J Pathol. 2009; 33(4): 298–300. |
| [9] | Pedersen FK, Møller NE. Diseases among refugee and immigrant children. Ugesk Laeger. 2000; 162: 6207–6209. |
| [10] | Samuel L, Stanley Jr, Sharon L. Reed: Microbes and Microbial Toxins: Paradigms for Microbial-Mucosal Interactions. VI Entamoeba histolytica: parasite-host interactions. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2001; 280:1049-1054. |
| [11] | Ali SA, Hill DR. Giardia intestinalis. Curr Opi Infect Dis 2003; 16: 453-460. |
| [12] | Percival S, Chalmers R, Embrey M, Hunter P, Sellwood J, Wyn-Jones P. Microbiology of waterborne diseases. Boston. Elsevier Academic Press, 2004, pp 11-13. |
| [13] | WHO Guideline for Drinking Water Quality: Cryptosporidium, 2006, pp 11-13. |
| [14] | Ayeh-Kumi PF, Quarcoo S, Kwakye-Nuako G, Kretchy JP, Osafo-Kantanka A, Mortu S. Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Food Vendors in Accra, Ghana. J Trop Med Parasitol 2009; 32:1-8. |
| [15] | Nkrumah B, Nguah SB. Giardia lamblia: a major parasitic cause of childhood diarrhoea in patients attending a district hospital in Ghana, Parasites & Vectors 2011; 4:163. doi:10.1186/1756-3305-4-163. |
| [16] | Alum A, Rubino JR, Khalid IM. The global war against intestinal parasites—should we use a holistic approach? Int. J Infect Dis 2010; 14: e732-e738. |
| [17] | Tengku SA, Norhayati M. Public health and clinical importance of amoebiasis in Malaysia: A review. Trop. Biomed 2011; 28(2): 194-222. |
| [18] | Ekundayo OJ, Aliyu MH, Jolly PE. A review of intestinal helminthiasis in Nigeria and the need for school-based intervention. JRTPH 2007; 6: 33-39. |
| [19] | WHO: Preventive chemotherapy in human helminthiasis. Coordinated use of antihelminthic drugs in control interventions. A manual for professionals and programme managers. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2006; 63. |
| [20] | Matthys B, Bobieva M, Karimova G, Mengliboeva Z, Jean-Richard V, Malika Hoimnazarova, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of helminths and intestinal protozoa infections among children from primary schools in western Tajikistan, Parasites & Vectors 2011; 4(195): doi:10.1186/1756-3305-4-195. |
| [21] | Speich B, Marti H, SM, Ali SM, Bogoch II, Utzinger J et al. Prevalence of intestinal protozoa infection among school-aged children on Pemba Island, Tanzania, and effect of single-dose albendazole, nitazoxanide and albendazole-nitazoxanide, Parasites & Vectors 2013; 6(3): doi:10.1186/1756-3305-6-3. |
| [22] | Ghana Statistical Service. Population and Housing census, Special Report on Urban localities. 2010; pp 10-15. |
| [23] | Garcia, L. S. Diagnostic Medical Parasitology, ed. 4., ASM Press, Washington, D.C., 2001. |
| [24] | Cheesbrough M. District Laboratory Pratice in Tropical Countries, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511581304. |
| [25] | Washington W., J., Allen, S., Janda, W., Koneman, E., Procop, G., Schreckenberger, P. and Woods, G. Koneman’s colour atlas and text book of diagnostic microbiology, 6th ed. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore. 2006; 22:1245-1321. |
| [26] | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Enterobiasis" Global Health – Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, 2010. |
| [27] | Tay SCK, Gbedema SY, Gyampomah TK. Accuracy of diagnosis of intestinal helminth parasites in a Reference diagnostic laboratory in the ashanti region of Ghana. International Journal of Parasitology Research 2011; 3(1): 12-16. |
| [28] | Songserm N, Promthet S, Wiangnon S, Sithithaworn P. Prevalence and Co-infection of Intestinal Parasites among Thai Rural Residents at High-risk of Developing Cholangiocarcinoma: A Cross-sectional Study in a Prospective Cohort Study. Asian Pacific J Cancer Prev 2012;13(12): 6175-6179. |
| [29] | Babatunde SK, Ameen N, Ajiboye AE, Adedayo RM, and Sunday O. Cryptosporidium and Other Intestinal Protozoan Parasites in Rural Communities of Moro Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria. OIJMR 2013; 1(1): 8-13. |
| [30] | Mehraj V, Hatcher J, Akhtar S, Rafique G, Beg MA. Prevalence and factors associated with intestinal parasitic infection among children in an urban slum of Karachi. PLoS ONE. 2008; 3(11): e3680. |
| [31] | Ahmed AK, Malik B, Shaheen G, Yasmeen JB, Dar AK, Mona S et al. Frequency of intestinal parasitic infestation in children of 5-12 years of age in Abbottabad. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad 2003; 15(2): 28-30. |
| [32] | Azian N, San MY, Gan YM, Yusri CC, Nurulsyamzawaty MY, Zuhaizam Y, Maslawaty AH, Norparina MN, Vythilingam I. Prevalence of intestinal protozoa in an aborigine community in Pahang, Malaysia. Trop Biomed 2007; 24(1): 55–62. |
| [33] | Adjei, A.A., Armah, H., Rodrigues, O., Renner, L., Borketey, P., Ayeh-Kumi, P., Adiku, T., Sifah, E. and Lartey, M. Cryptosporidium spp., a frequent cause of diarrhoea among children at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Jpn J Infect Dis 2004; 57: 216-219. |
| [34] | Bushen OY, Kohli A, Pinkerton RC, et al. Heavy cryptosporidial infections in children in northeast Brazil: comparison of Cryptosporidium hominis and Cryptosporidium parvum. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2007; 101(4): 378–384. |
| [35] | Houpt ER, Bushen OY, Sam NE, et al. Short report: asymptomatic Cryptosporidium hominis infection among human immunodeficiency virus–infected patients in Tanzania. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2005; 73: 520–522. |
| [36] | Appelbee AJ, Thompson RC, Olson ME. Giardia and Cryptosporidium in mammalian wildlife – current status and future needs. Trends Parasitol. 2005; 21(8): 370–376. |
| [37] | Langkjaer RB, Vigre H, Enemark HL, Maddox-Hyttel C. Molecular and phylogenetic characterization of Cryptosporidium and Giardia from pigs and cattle in Denmark. Parasitology 2007; 134(3): 339–350. |
| [38] | Claerebout E, Casaert S, Dalemans AC, et al. Giardia and other intestinal parasites in different dog populations in Northern Belgium. Vet. Parasitol. 2009; 161(1–2): 41–46. |
| [39] | Ali IK, Clark CG, Petri WAJ. Molecular epidemiology of amebiasis. Infect Genet Evol 2008; 8(5): 698-707. |
| [40] | Heresi, G. and Cleary, T.G. Giardia. Ped Rev 1997; 18(7):243. |
APA Style
Williams Walana, Samuel Crowther Kofi Tay, Philip Tetteh, Juventus Benogle Ziem. (2014). Prevalence of Intestinal Protozoan Infestation among Primary School Children in Urban and Peri-Urban Communities in Kumasi, Ghana. Science Journal of Public Health, 2(2), 52-57. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12
ACS Style
Williams Walana; Samuel Crowther Kofi Tay; Philip Tetteh; Juventus Benogle Ziem. Prevalence of Intestinal Protozoan Infestation among Primary School Children in Urban and Peri-Urban Communities in Kumasi, Ghana. Sci. J. Public Health 2014, 2(2), 52-57. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12
AMA Style
Williams Walana, Samuel Crowther Kofi Tay, Philip Tetteh, Juventus Benogle Ziem. Prevalence of Intestinal Protozoan Infestation among Primary School Children in Urban and Peri-Urban Communities in Kumasi, Ghana. Sci J Public Health. 2014;2(2):52-57. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12,
author = {Williams Walana and Samuel Crowther Kofi Tay and Philip Tetteh and Juventus Benogle Ziem},
title = {Prevalence of Intestinal Protozoan Infestation among Primary School Children in Urban and Peri-Urban Communities in Kumasi, Ghana},
journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
volume = {2},
number = {2},
pages = {52-57},
doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20140202.12},
abstract = {Introduction- Intestinal protozoan infections continue to remain a global public health challenge, particularly in developing countries. Children are greatly prone to these infections via the ingestion of food, water or soil contaminated with the infective stage of these parasites. Objectives- This study focused on establishing the prevalence of intestinal protozoan infection among primary school children aged 5 to 12 years from six communities in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. Methods- A total of 2400 children were randomly selected sampled. Stool samples collected from the children were analyzed using the formol-ether concentration technique. The modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique was employed in the identification of Cryptosporidium parvum. Results- The overall prevalence of intestinal protozoan identified among the studied school children was 42.9%. Prevalence was significantly higher in males than females with rates of 51.0% (604/1162) and 30.8% (381/1238) respectively. The highest protozoan infestation was Giardia lamblia with a prevalence of 16.8% (195/1162) and 7.8 % (97/1238) in males and females respectively. Three pathogenic strains (Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and Cryptosporidium parvum) and four non-pathogenic species (Entamoeba coli, Endolimax nana, Chilomastix mesnili and Iodamoeba butschlii) were identified in the study. Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum recorded prevalence rates of 12.2% and 8.5% respectively. Prevalence was however proportional to age with respect to Endolimax nana and Iodamoeba butschlii infections. Conclusion- There is relatively high prevalence of intestinal protozoan infection among the studied children. This obviously suggests that there are possible household, school based and behaviour oriented risk factors which predispose the children to these parasites.},
year = {2014}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Prevalence of Intestinal Protozoan Infestation among Primary School Children in Urban and Peri-Urban Communities in Kumasi, Ghana AU - Williams Walana AU - Samuel Crowther Kofi Tay AU - Philip Tetteh AU - Juventus Benogle Ziem Y1 - 2014/01/30 PY - 2014 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12 DO - 10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12 T2 - Science Journal of Public Health JF - Science Journal of Public Health JO - Science Journal of Public Health SP - 52 EP - 57 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7950 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140202.12 AB - Introduction- Intestinal protozoan infections continue to remain a global public health challenge, particularly in developing countries. Children are greatly prone to these infections via the ingestion of food, water or soil contaminated with the infective stage of these parasites. Objectives- This study focused on establishing the prevalence of intestinal protozoan infection among primary school children aged 5 to 12 years from six communities in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. Methods- A total of 2400 children were randomly selected sampled. Stool samples collected from the children were analyzed using the formol-ether concentration technique. The modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique was employed in the identification of Cryptosporidium parvum. Results- The overall prevalence of intestinal protozoan identified among the studied school children was 42.9%. Prevalence was significantly higher in males than females with rates of 51.0% (604/1162) and 30.8% (381/1238) respectively. The highest protozoan infestation was Giardia lamblia with a prevalence of 16.8% (195/1162) and 7.8 % (97/1238) in males and females respectively. Three pathogenic strains (Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and Cryptosporidium parvum) and four non-pathogenic species (Entamoeba coli, Endolimax nana, Chilomastix mesnili and Iodamoeba butschlii) were identified in the study. Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum recorded prevalence rates of 12.2% and 8.5% respectively. Prevalence was however proportional to age with respect to Endolimax nana and Iodamoeba butschlii infections. Conclusion- There is relatively high prevalence of intestinal protozoan infection among the studied children. This obviously suggests that there are possible household, school based and behaviour oriented risk factors which predispose the children to these parasites. VL - 2 IS - 2 ER -
Email: