Title: Epidemiological Study of Parasitic Infestations in Pediatric Population Attending A Tertiary Care Hospital, Northern India
Authors: Natasha Sawhney, Sandeep Dogra, Bella Mahajan
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v5i6.214
Abstract
Introduction: Intestinal parasitic infection is one of the major health problems in several developing countries, including India. Soil transmitted helminth (STH) infections form the most important group of intestinal worms affecting two billion people worldwide, causing considerable morbidity and suffering. About 12% of the global disease burden is observed among children with age ranges from 5 to 14 years in developing countries. This indicates that children are the major risk group for these infections. The present study was undertaken to investigate and update the current situation and study associated demographic and environmental factors in children.
Methods: A total of 4319 consecutive stool samples were processed using saline and iodine mounts and examined for ova and cyst of parasites as per departmental protocol within a period of 24 months (March 2015-March 2017).
Results: The overall prevalence of intestinal worm infestation was found to be 5.20%. Maximum percentage of intestinal parasite found in wet mount was of Giardia lamblia (66.7%) and Entamoeba histolytica (25.7%) followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (3.1%), Hymenolepis nana (2.2%), Enterobius vermicularis (1.8%) and Hookworm (0.7%) respectively. The occurrence of intestinal parasitic infections is quite high and intestinal protozoa are common than helminths in our study.
Conclusion: Our study reveal that the situation of intestinal parasitosis is a matter of concern, especially in children and drastic steps should be taken to minimize the gravity of this malady.
Keywords: Parasitic infections, STH, Giardiasis.
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