Malaria and Intestinal Parasite Infections and Co-Infections in Tach Gayint District, South Gondar Zone
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2010-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
To assess the level of intestinal parasite and malaria infection, a total of 806 consenting individuals were randomly selected from Tach Gayint District. The prevalence of malaria, intestinal protozoa and helminth infections and co-infections in the area were determined. The study was conducted in two seasons, November/December, 2008 (after the big rains) and April/May, 2009 (after the small rains). Blood film determination, direct wet mount and concentration techniques were respectively used for diagnosis of malaria and intestinal parasites. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was the same in the two seasons, 67.28% (November/December) and 67.20% (April/May), indicating lack of variation in intestinal parasite burden during the two dry periods of the year. However, the prevalence of hookworm, S. mansoni and A. lumbricoides were significantly higher in the age groups below 14 years (P < 0.05). The prevalence of T. trichiura in school children was much higher (21.08%) than in the adult population (3.33%) (P < 0.001) and the cumulative prevalence of H. nana in school children (7.98%) was also significantly (P = 0.003) higher than in the adult population (3.30%). These findings indicated that the hygienic condition of the children is much worse than that of the adults and requires extra attention for improvement. On the other hand, the prevalence of malaria showed the typical seasonal pattern, with high peak transmission (11.17%) in November/December and low transmission (5.46%) in April/May. Malaria prevalence in the two seasons was at levels that are of public health concern (> 5%). This indicates that malaria control program in the study area was inadequate or was not being properly implemented. Furthermore, the double, triple and quadruple co-infections involving malaria and intestinal parasites were indications of high burden of parasite infection in the study area. On the whole, the findings of the present study have provided an empirical evidence for the need to implement effective malaria and intestinal parasite control measures in Tach Gayint District.
Key word: Intestinal, Helminth, Protozoa, Malaria, Co-infections, Tach Gayint.
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Intestinal, Helminth, Protozoa, Malaria,, Co-infections,, Tach Gayint.