title: Epidemiology of intestinal parasitic infections in school children in Ghazni Province, eastern Afghanistan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence of intestinal parasites and their species in Afghan school children and to establish appropriate treatment methods for detected pathogens.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parasitological examination of stool samples collected from 1369 children aged 8-18, students of the Jahan Malika High School in Ghazni Province in eastern Afghanistan, was conducted in the period November 2013-April 2014. Three stool samples were collected from each patient every second day; the samples were fixed in 10% formalin and tested by light microscopy using the methods of direct smear in Lugol's solution, decantation in distilled water, and Fülleborn's flotation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 535 examined children (39.1% of the study group) were infected with nematodes (n=324), cestodes (n=118), trematodes (n=12), and protozoa (n=228), 132 were diagnosed with co-infections (mainly ascariasis+giardiasis, ascariasis+hymenolepiasis) and received single or combined therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Afghan community is an example of population characterized by a high rate of parasitic infections. Owing to high prevalence of multiple infections among inhabitants of Afghanistan, it seems that a mass deworming campaign with a single-dose chemotherapy may prove ineffective in eradicating intestinal parasites in the local population.
authors: Krzysztof Korzeniewski MD, PhD. Department of Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine, Military Institute of Medicine, Gdynia, Poland.
authors: Krzysztof
authors: K
authors: Korzeniewski
authors: Alina Augustynowicz MSc. Department of Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine, Military Institute of Medicine, Gdynia, Poland.
authors: Alina
authors: A
authors: Augustynowicz
authors: Agata Smoleń MD, PhD. Department of Epidemiology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
authors: Agata
authors: A
authors: Smoleń
authors: Anna Lass PhD. Department of Tropical Parasitology, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland.
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Lass
keywords: Afghanistan; Intestinal parasites; Prevalence