title: Intestinal Parasitic Infections and Nutritional Status among Primary School Children in Delo-mena District, South Eastern Ethiopia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although there are efforts being underway to control and prevent intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) in Ethiopia, they are still endemic and responsible for significant morbidity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of IPIs and their association with nutritional status among primary school children of Delo-Mena district, South Eastern Ethiopia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2013. Demographic data was obtained, and IPIs was investigated in a single-stool sample by both direct stool examination and formol-ether concentration techniques. Anthropometric measurements were taken to calculate height for-age (HAZ), BMI-for-age (BAZ) and weight-for-age (WAZ) for the determination of stunting, thinness and underweight, respectively using WHO AntroPlus software. SPSS version 20 was used for statistical analysis and p value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 492 children studied (51% boys, aged 6-18 years, mean 10.93 +2.4) an overall IPIs prevalence of 26.6% was found. The prevalence ofS. mansoni,E. histolytica/dispar,H. nana,A. lumbricoides,G. lambilia,T. trichiura,S. stercolaris,E. vermicularis, Hookworms andTaeniaspp were 9.6%, 7.7%, 5.3%, 3.7%, 2.0%, 1.6%, 1.4%, 1.2%, 0.8% and 0.2% respectively. Stunting and underweightedness were observed in 4.5% and 13.6% of children and associated with IPIs (P<0.001) and (P=0.001), respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IPIs and its associated malnutrition remain a public health concern in Delo-Mena district. Therefore, the overall health promotion activities coupled with snail control and de-worming to the students is crucial. Additionally, initiatives aimed at improving the nutritional status of school children are also important.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; Dept. of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Madawalabu University, Goba, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Begna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tulu
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Madawalabu University, Goba, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Solomon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taye
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Yohannes
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zenebe
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Eden
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amsalu
keywords: Cross-sectional; Ethiopia; Intestinal parasites; Nutritional status; Prevalence