Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T21:59:07.589Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Soil-transmitted helminth infections in Nigerian children aged 0–25 months

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

P. Kirwan ,
S.O. Asaolu ,
T.C. Abiona ,
A.L. Jackson ,
H.V. Smith  and
C.V. Holland
P. Kirwan*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
S.O. Asaolu
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
T.C. Abiona
Affiliation:
HIV/AIDS Research and Policy Institute, Chicago State University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
A.L. Jackson
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
H.V. Smith
Affiliation:
Scottish Parasite Diagnostic Laboratory, Stobhill Hospital, GlasgowG21 3UK, UK
C.V. Holland
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
*
*Fax: +353 1 6778094, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) in children aged 0–25 months and to identify the associated risk factors for Ascaris lumbricoides infections. The study was conducted in three villages outside Ile-Ife, Osun state, Nigeria in May/June 2005. Stool samples (369) were processed by formol-ether concentration. Ascaris lumbricoides (12.2%) was the dominant infection. Age, father's occupation and dog ownership were identified as the significant risk factors in the minimal adequate model for A. lumbricoides. The odds of being infected with A. lumbricoides increased as the children got older. Children aged 12–17 months and 18–25 months were 8.8 and 12.4 times, respectively, more likely to harbour Ascaris than those aged 7–11 months. The odds of harbouring Ascaris for children whose families owned a dog were 3.5 times that of children whose families did not own a dog. Children whose fathers were businessmen were 0.4 times less likely to be infected with Ascaris than those whose fathers were farmers. The findings from this study suggest that many of these young children, who are at a critical stage of development, are infected with Ascaris and that the prevalence of infection with this parasite increases with age. This study has highlighted the need to incorporate preschool children into deworming programmes in endemic regions and to investigate innovative ways of delivering cost-effective deworming treatment to this high-risk age group.

Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 83 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 261 - 266
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdel-Wahab, M.F., Powers, K.G., Mahmoud, S.S. & Good, W.C. (1974) Suppression of schistosome granuloma formation by malaria in mice. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 23, 915–918.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Albonico, M., Allen, H., Chitsulo, L., Engels, D., Gabrielli, A.F. & Savioli, L. (2008) Controlling soil-transmitted helminthiasis in pre-school-age children through preventive chemotherapy. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2, e126.Google ScholarPubMed
Allen, A.V. & Ridley, D.S. (1970) Further observations on the formol-ether concentration technique for faecal parasites. Journal of Clinical Pathology 23, 545–546.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asaolu, S.O., Holland, C.V. & Crompton, D.W.T. (1991) Community control of Ascaris lumbricoides in rural Oyo State, Nigeria: mass, targeted and selective treatment with levamisole. Parasitology 103, 291–298.Google Scholar
Asaolu, S.O., Holland, C.V., Jegede, J.O., Fraser, N.R., Stoddard, R.C. & Crompton, D.W. (1992) The prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminthiases in rural communities in southern Nigeria. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 86, 279–287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asaolu, S.O., Ofoezie, I.E., Odumuyiwa, P.A., Sowemimo, O.A. & Ogunniyi, T.A.B. (2002) Effect of water supply and sanitation on the prevalence and intensity of Ascaris lumbricoides among pre-school-age children in Ajebandele and Ifewara, Osun State, Nigeria. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 96, 600–604.Google Scholar
Awasthi, S. & Pande, V.K. (2001) Six-monthly de-worming in infants to study effects on growth. Indian Journal of Pediatrics 68, 823–827.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Awasthi, S., Pande, V.K. & Fletcher, R.H. (2000) Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of albendazole in improving nutritional status of pre-school children in urban slums. Indian Pediatrics 37, 19–29.Google Scholar
Bundy, D.A., Kan, S.P. & Rose, R. (1988) Age-related prevalence, intensity and frequency distribution of gastrointestinal helminth infection in urban slum children from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Transaction of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 82, 289–294.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, M.S. (1997) The global burden of intestinal nematode infections – fifty years on. Parasitology Today 13, 438–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costa-Macedo, L.M. & Rey, L. (2000) Maternal and child intestinal parasitism and breast-feeding. Revista Da Sociedade Brasileira De Medicina Tropical 33, 371–375.Google Scholar
Crompton, D.W.T. & Nesheim, M.C. (2002) Nutritional impact of intestinal helminthiasis during the human life cycle. Annual Review of Nutrition 22, 35–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Silva, N.R., Brooker, S., Hotez, P.J., Montresor, A., Engels, D. & Savioli, L. (2003) Soil-transmitted helminth infections: updating the global picture. Trends in Parasitology 19, 547–551.Google Scholar
Haswell-Elkins, M.R., Elkins, D.B. & Anderson, R.M. (1987) Evidence for predisposition in humans to infection with Ascaris, hookworm, Enterobius and Trichuris in a South Indian fishing community. Parasitology 95, 323–337.Google Scholar
Holland, C.V., Asaolu, S.O., Crompton, D.W., Whitehead, R.R. & Coombs, I. (1996) Targeted anthelminthic treatment of school children: effect of frequency of application on the intensity of Ascaris lumbricoides infection in children from rural Nigerian villages. Parasitology 113 (Pt 1), 87–95.Google Scholar
Hotez, P.J., Molyneux, D.H., Fenwick, A., Ottesen, E., Ehrlich Sachs, S. & Sachs, J.D. (2006) Incorporating a rapid-impact package for neglected tropical diseases with programs for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. PLoS Medicine 3, e102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mbendi, M., Mashako, M.N., Lukuni, M. & Ndongala, Z.L. (1988) L'albendazole dans le traitement des nématodes intestinales chez l'enfant âgé de 1 à 2 ans. Médecine et chirurgie digestives (Paris) 17, 213–215.Google Scholar
Molyneux, D.H., Hotez, P.J. & Fenwick, A. (2005) ‘Rapid-impact interventions’: how a policy of integrated control for Africa's neglected tropical diseases could benefit the poor. PLoS Medicine 2, e336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Montresor, A., Awasthi, S. & Crompton, D.W.T. (2003) Use of benzimidazoles in children younger than 24 months for the treatment of soil-transmitted helminthiasis. Acta Tropica 86, 223–232.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Naish, S., McCarthy, J. & Williams, G.M. (2004) Prevalence, intensity and risk factors for soil-transmitted helminth infection in a South Indian fishing village. Acta Tropica 91, 177–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oberhelman, R.A., Guerrero, E.S., Fernandez, M.L., Silio, M., Mercado, D., Comiskey, N., Ihenacho, G. & Mera, R. (1998) Correlations between intestinal parasitosis, physical growth, and psychomotor development among infants and children from rural Nicaragua. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 58, 470–475.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stoltzfus, R.J., Chway, H.M., Montresor, A., Tielsch, J.M., Jape, J.K., Albonico, M. & Savioli, L. (2004) Low dose daily iron supplementation improves iron status and appetite but not anemia, whereas quarterly anthelminthic treatment improves growth, appetite and anemia in Zanzibari preschool children. Journal of Nutrition 134, 348–356.Google Scholar
Team, R.D.C. (2007) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria, R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Traub, R.J., Robertson, I.D., Irwin, P., Mencke, N. & Thompson, R.C.A. (2002) The role of dogs in transmission of gastrointestinal parasites in a remote tea-growing community in northeastern India. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 67, 539–545.Google Scholar
van der Hoek, W., De, N.V., Konradsen, F., Cam, P.D., Hoa, N.T. & Toan, N.D. (2003) Current status of soil-transmitted helminths in Vietnam. Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health 34, 1–11.Google Scholar
WHO, (2002) Prevention and control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis. WHO Technical Report Series 912. Geneva, World Health Organization.Google Scholar
WHO, (2003) Report of the WHO informal consultation on the use of praziquantel during pregnancy/lactation and albendazole/mebendazole in children under 24 months. WHO/CDS/CPE/PVC/2002.4. Geneva, World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Wilson, F., Lindsay, G., Crompton, D.W.T. & Hodges, M.H. (1991) Intestinal helminth infections in mothers and their infants in Sierra Leone. Journal of the Sierra Leone Medical and Dental Association 6, 23–30.Google Scholar