Frequency of intestinal parasitic infestation in children of 5-12 years of age in Abbottabad.
BACKGROUND
Worm infestation is a major problem in children from developing countries due to bad hygienic conditions. It produces nutritional deficiencies and anaemia in children, especially when hookworm infestation is present.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study deals with investigation of the frequency of intestinal parasitic infestation in children between the ages 5-12 years. A total of 283 subjects were tested and screened for different intestinal parasites at of Department of Physiology, Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad. Negative cases were re-examined and if found free of intestinal pathogenic parasites were labelled as negative.


RESULTS
Of the 283 children examined, 230 tested positive for various intestinal parasites. The frequency of helminthic infestation was found to be above 81%. There were 8 different species of helminths and protozoa found in the specimens. By far the highest frequency of 48% was noted for Ascaris lumbricoides while 6.9% (16 cases) of the specimens examined had mixed infestation. The mean Haemoglobin (Hb) level was found to be 9.82 g/dl in males and 9.0 g/dl in females. Virtually no Hookworm infestation was found which may be the reason of not so low Hb level of the subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
A very high percentage (81%) of children from suburbs of Abbottabad have intestinal worm infestation and majority of them (48% of positive cases) have Ascaris lumbricoides. Children were not very severely anaemic because of virtually no hook worm cases.
Ahmed
Akbar K
AK
Department of Physiology, Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad. akbarkahmed@yahoo.com
Malik
Babar
B
Shaheen
Babar
B
Yasmeen
Ghazala
G
Dar
Junaid Babar
JB
Mona
Altaf K
AK
Gulab
Shamshad
S
Ayub
Muhammad
M
D017677:Age Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001196:Ascariasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006725:Hookworm Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014505:Urban Population