A study of prevalence of Taenia infestation and associated risk factors among the school children of Itahari Municipality, Eastern region of Nepal

Abstract

Ram Bilakshan Sah, Ishwari Sharma Paudel, Prakash Poudel, Ratna Baral, Nilambar Jha, Paras Kumar Pokharel

Aim/Background: Taenia infestations are widely prevalent in developing countries like Nepal where pigs are reared and pork is consumed. Lack of sufficient sanitary facilities, illiteracy and poverty are key factors to the completion of the parasite’s life cycle. The objective of the study was to measure the prevalence of taenia infestation and to identify risk factors associated with taenia infestation among the school children of Itahari Municipality. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Eastern Nepal. Total 200 school children from Government and Private schools were taken for this study. Stratified random sampling method was applied to choose the schools and the study subjects. Semi-structured questionnaire was administered and microscopic examination of stool of all study subjects was done. The chi-square test was used to measure the association of risk factors and taenia infestation. P-value was set 0.05 for significance. Results: The prevalence of taenia species was found to be 6.5 percent. Almost ten percent of female and three percent of male were infected with taenia species. The respondents from Dalit were found higher prevalence of taenia infestation than other ethnic groups. The use of soap and water after defecation had significantly lower prevalence of taenia infestation (3.1%) than only using water (10%). Not a single case of taenia infestation was found in the children who used sandal. Conclusion: We conclude that the prevalence of taenia infestation was found to be high in school children of Itahari