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Direct Microscopy of Stool Samples for Determining the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among Primary School Children in Kaduwela MOH Area of Sri Lanka following Floods in 2016

A descriptive cross-sectional school based study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of soil-transmitted intestinal helminths and the associated factors among school children in Kaduwela Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area in the Colombo district, which was affected by floods in 2016. The...

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Autores principales: Ubhayawardana, Nushka, Gammana Liyanage, Ishani, Herath, H. M. J. C. B., Amarasekera, Uthpala, Dissanayake, Tilanka, de Silva, Sujan, Fernando, Nayana, Ekanayake, Sriyani
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Hindawi 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6015666/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29983716
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/4929805
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author Ubhayawardana, Nushka
Gammana Liyanage, Ishani
Herath, H. M. J. C. B.
Amarasekera, Uthpala
Dissanayake, Tilanka
de Silva, Sujan
Fernando, Nayana
Ekanayake, Sriyani
author_facet Ubhayawardana, Nushka
Gammana Liyanage, Ishani
Herath, H. M. J. C. B.
Amarasekera, Uthpala
Dissanayake, Tilanka
de Silva, Sujan
Fernando, Nayana
Ekanayake, Sriyani
author_sort Ubhayawardana, Nushka
collection PubMed
description A descriptive cross-sectional school based study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of soil-transmitted intestinal helminths and the associated factors among school children in Kaduwela Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area in the Colombo district, which was affected by floods in 2016. The study was conducted in 9 selected schools in Kaduwela MOH area from September 2016 to March 2017. Permission was obtained from the relevant authorities. Grade 1 students were enrolled in the study after obtaining informed written consent from their parents/guardian. Interviewer based questionnaire was administered to gather demographic data and other relevant information. Stool samples were collected and examined by direct wet saline smear. Study population comprised 53.4% male students. None of stool samples were positive for soil-transmitted helminths but 17.4% of students complained of nocturnal itching and parents of 23% of them had seen worms passing out from their children's anus at night. Fourteen stool samples were found to be positive for cyst of Entamoeba coli. Majority of parents (69%) stated that their children always wash their hands with soap and water before meals, whereas 26% stated that their children practice this sometimes. Majority of students (88%) washed their hands after going to the toilet. Almost all students (86%) used water sealed toilets and very few used pit latrines (14%). In this study, 67% of students had received anti-helminthic drugs after the floods. These findings suggest that zero prevalence of helminthic infections could be due to anti-helminthic prophylaxis and good health practices. Further studies should be done in this area with a large sample size to investigate the true prevalence of helminthic infections. Students and parents should be educated on Enterobius vermicularis infection. The source of water supply should be tested for fecal contamination.
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spelling pubmed-60156662018-07-08 Direct Microscopy of Stool Samples for Determining the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among Primary School Children in Kaduwela MOH Area of Sri Lanka following Floods in 2016 Ubhayawardana, Nushka Gammana Liyanage, Ishani Herath, H. M. J. C. B. Amarasekera, Uthpala Dissanayake, Tilanka de Silva, Sujan Fernando, Nayana Ekanayake, Sriyani J Environ Public Health Research Article A descriptive cross-sectional school based study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of soil-transmitted intestinal helminths and the associated factors among school children in Kaduwela Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area in the Colombo district, which was affected by floods in 2016. The study was conducted in 9 selected schools in Kaduwela MOH area from September 2016 to March 2017. Permission was obtained from the relevant authorities. Grade 1 students were enrolled in the study after obtaining informed written consent from their parents/guardian. Interviewer based questionnaire was administered to gather demographic data and other relevant information. Stool samples were collected and examined by direct wet saline smear. Study population comprised 53.4% male students. None of stool samples were positive for soil-transmitted helminths but 17.4% of students complained of nocturnal itching and parents of 23% of them had seen worms passing out from their children's anus at night. Fourteen stool samples were found to be positive for cyst of Entamoeba coli. Majority of parents (69%) stated that their children always wash their hands with soap and water before meals, whereas 26% stated that their children practice this sometimes. Majority of students (88%) washed their hands after going to the toilet. Almost all students (86%) used water sealed toilets and very few used pit latrines (14%). In this study, 67% of students had received anti-helminthic drugs after the floods. These findings suggest that zero prevalence of helminthic infections could be due to anti-helminthic prophylaxis and good health practices. Further studies should be done in this area with a large sample size to investigate the true prevalence of helminthic infections. Students and parents should be educated on Enterobius vermicularis infection. The source of water supply should be tested for fecal contamination. Hindawi 2018-06-10 /pmc/articles/PMC6015666/ /pubmed/29983716 http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/4929805 Text en Copyright © 2018 Nushka Ubhayawardana et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Ubhayawardana, Nushka
Gammana Liyanage, Ishani
Herath, H. M. J. C. B.
Amarasekera, Uthpala
Dissanayake, Tilanka
de Silva, Sujan
Fernando, Nayana
Ekanayake, Sriyani
Direct Microscopy of Stool Samples for Determining the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among Primary School Children in Kaduwela MOH Area of Sri Lanka following Floods in 2016
title Direct Microscopy of Stool Samples for Determining the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among Primary School Children in Kaduwela MOH Area of Sri Lanka following Floods in 2016
title_full Direct Microscopy of Stool Samples for Determining the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among Primary School Children in Kaduwela MOH Area of Sri Lanka following Floods in 2016
title_fullStr Direct Microscopy of Stool Samples for Determining the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among Primary School Children in Kaduwela MOH Area of Sri Lanka following Floods in 2016
title_full_unstemmed Direct Microscopy of Stool Samples for Determining the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among Primary School Children in Kaduwela MOH Area of Sri Lanka following Floods in 2016
title_short Direct Microscopy of Stool Samples for Determining the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among Primary School Children in Kaduwela MOH Area of Sri Lanka following Floods in 2016
title_sort direct microscopy of stool samples for determining the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthic infections among primary school children in kaduwela moh area of sri lanka following floods in 2016
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6015666/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29983716
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/4929805
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