The Magnitude and Determinants of intestinal parasites among students, who use three of Addis Ababa University campus clinics in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2013-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Abeba University
Abstract
Background: In Ethiopia, intestinal parasitic diseases are one of the major causes of morbidity
nationwide. In addition to that, intestinal parasites have significant socioeconomic problem in
terms of productivity, school performance and cost for diagnosis and treatment. Intestinal
parasitosis is one of the major problems among student of Addis Ababa University who visited
student clinics.
Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the magnitude and determinants of intestinal
parasitosis among Addis Ababa University students who utilize AAU student clinic service,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods: Health facility based cross-sectional study design was employed. Total of 556
students were selected by systematical cluster sampling from the three campuses (Main, North
technology, Science). Self- administered, close and open ended coded questionnaire was
prepared to assess their knowledge attitude and practice towards intestinal parasite, personal
hygiene and sanitation. Finally the stool samples was diagnosed using direct wet mount and
concentrated technique then the data was analyzed using Crude and adjusted Odds ratio with
95% confidence interval at P < 0.05 to check whether there were significant association between
dependent and independent variables.
Result: A total of 556 study subjects were participated, of which 424(76.3 %) were males. Out
of total, 134 of them had at least one parasitic infestation with an overall prevalence of 24.1%, of
which 108(80.6%) were males. Out of total study subjects, 326(58.6%) had abdominal pain or
discomfort during two weeks before the survey. Cafeteria usage and eating street food were
significantly associated with intestinal parasitosis [AOR: 2.1, 95% CI (1.2, 5.0)] and [AOR: 2.6,
95% CI (1.45, 3.51)], respectively. Technology campus fulfilled nearly 2/3 of sanitary
requirements while, Main and Science campus fulfilled less than half of the requirement.
Conclusion and recommendation: There was high prevalence of intestinal parasitosis and
presence of abdominal pain or discomfort among the university students. The amount of water
and toilet availability in cafeteria and student dormitory did not met the required sanitary
standards. Sanitary building codes and enforcement needs to be in place for the current and
newly built dormitories and cafeteria services.
Description
Keywords
Intestinal parasites