Factors associated with the prevalence of ascaris lumbricoides infection among preschool children in a plantation community, kandy district, sri lanka.

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PREVALENCE OF ASCARIS LUMBRICOIDES INFECTION AMONG PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN A PLANTATION COMMUNITY, KANDY DISTRICT, SRI LANKA. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2016 Nov;47(6):1143-52 Authors: Galgamuwa L, Iddawela D, Dharmaratne SD Abstract Plantation living conditions in Sri Lanka are often poor. Ascaris lumbricoides infections are common among those living in plantations. We conducted a cross sectional study of children aged 1 - 6 years living on a plantation to determine the prevalence of ascariasis and factors associated with it in order to educate on prevention and to implement treatment programs. A total of 258 preschool children selected using a simple random sampling was included in the study conducted during January - April, 2013. Data regarding socio-demographic and hygienic habits were collected from heads of households via an interviewer administered structured questionnaire. Wet mount preparation, formaldehyde-ether sedimentation and Kato-Katz techniques were used to evaluate stool samples for Ascaris eggs. The overall prevalence of Ascaris infection among study subjects was 37.8%. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, factors significantly associated with Ascaris infections were: living in attached houses (p=0.035), shared toilet facilities (p=0.001), de-worming period more than three months (p<0.001), maternal education level (p<0.001) and living in the “Top” governme...
Source: Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health - Category: Tropical Medicine Tags: Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health Source Type: research