title: Effect of anthelminthic treatment on helminth infection and related anaemia among school-age children in northwestern Ethiopia.
abstract: Information about improvements in the health status of population at-risk of helminth infection after anthelminthic treatment helps to evaluate the effectiveness of the large scale deworming program. The objectives of this study were to assess the impact of anthelminthic treatment on the prevalence and intensity of intestinal helminth infection, haemoglobin level and prevalence of anaemia among school-age children.
  
  
  
  A total of 403 children attending Tikur Wuha Elementary School in Jiga, northwestern Ethiopia were enrolled in this study between February and March 2011. Formol-ether concentration and Kato-Katz methods were used to examine stool for intestinal helminth infections at baseline and one month after anthelminthic treatment. Haemoglobin level was measured using Hemocue machine at baseline and one month after anthelminthic treatment.
  
  
  
  Out of 403 school children examined, 15.4 % were anaemic and 58.3 % were infected with intestinal helminths at baseline. Hookworms (46.9 %), Schistosoma mansoni (24.6 %), Ascaris lumbricoides (4.2 %) and Trichuris trichiura (1.7 %) infections were common. The odds of anaemia was higher among children infected with helminths (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.83, 95 % CI = 1.92, 7.62) especially in those infected with hookworm (aOR = 2.42, 95 % CI = 1.34, 4.39) or S. mansoni (aOR = 2.67, 95 % CI = 1.46, 4.88) and two or more helminth species (aOR = 7.31, 95 % CI = 3.27, 16.35) than those uninfected with intestinal helminths at baseline. Significant reduction in prevalence of helminth infection (77.0 %) and increment in mean haemoglobin level (+3.65 g/l) of children infected with helminths was observed one month after anthelminthic treatment. The increase in haemoglobin level after anthelminthic treatment was significantly positively associated with the age, but negatively associated with the haemoglobin level at baseline. The change in mean haemoglobin level was significantly higher among undernourished than normal children. Percent reduction in the prevalence of anaemia among children infected with helminths was 25.4 % after anthelminthic treatment.
  
  
  
  The present study provides evidence that anthelminthic treatment of school-age children infected with intestinal helminth can improve haemoglobin level in addition to reducing the prevalence and intensity of helminth infections one month after treatment. This suggests that deworming of children may benefit the health of children in sub-Sharan Africa where hookworm and S. mansoni infections are prevalent.
authors: Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural and Computational Sciences, Woldia University, P.o. box. 400, Woldia, Ethiopia.
authors: Yonas
authors: Y
authors: Yimam
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Robert Stemple College of Public Health, Florida International University, Miami, USA. abrahamdegarege@yahoo.com.|Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. abrahamdegarege@yahoo.com.
authors: Abraham
authors: A
authors: Degarege
authors: Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors: Berhanu
authors: B
authors: Erko
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000723:Ancylostomatoidea / Q000472:pathogenicity; D000740:Anemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017164:Ascaris lumbricoides / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006725:Hookworm Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012574:Schools; D014258:Trichuris / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics
keywords: Anaemia; Anthelminthic treatment; Ethiopia; Haemoglobin; Helminths