Amoebic and Giardia Infections Among Diarrhoeal Patients in Lideta Health Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2018-08-04
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Amoebic and giardia infections are one of the major public health problems in many
countries including Ethiopia. They are more common in children due to poor personal
hygiene and lack of awareness. The objective of the present study was to identify
intestinal protozoan parasite species and to determine their prevalence among patients
visiting Lideta health center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The design of the study was a crosssectional
parasitological survey involving examination of fresh stool drawn from patients
visiting the health center, during September 2017- May 2018. Data were gathered by
means of questionnaire survey and laboratory parasitological examination procedures.
The stool samples were examined using direct wet-mount and formol-ether concentration
methods. From the total of 240 study participants, 122(50.8%) were males and
118(49.2%) females. In the study 27(22.1%), 17(13.9%) males and 23(19.5%),
20(16.6%) females were positive for Entamoeba histolytica /dispar/ moshkoviskii and
Giardia lamblia respectively. The overall prevalence of amoebic and giardia infections
was 36.3 %. The prevalence of amoebic and giardia infections was significantly associated
with some risk factors such as habit of eating uncooked vegetables and unwashed fruits (p=
0.014), unhygienic toilet (p= 0.042), hand washing before meal or after toilet (p= 0.001)
and cleanliness of kitchen utensils (p= 0.017). In general, the study revealed that IPIs
represented a major public health problem in terms of morbidity and economic
consequences. It is therefore recommended to local (woreda) health sector and any
concerned bodies that systematic, integrated and community-participatory IPIs,
prevention and control programs need to be implemented in the study area.
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Keywords
Health Center, Amoebic and Giardia Infections, Lideta, Prevalence