Ann. Pak. Inst. Med. Sci. 2012; 8(4): 243-248

Objective:The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Worm & protozoan infestation in primary school children Bannu City.
Study design: Cross sectional study.
Place & Duration of study: The study was carried out in the Department of pathology, Bannu medical College Bannu & Samad clinical laboratory, Bannu in one year duration from March 2010-March 2011.
Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study deals with investigation of the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation in children between the ages 5-10 years. A total of 100 subjects were tested and screened for different intestinal worm at Department of Pathology, Bannu Medical College, Bannu.
Results: Of the 100 children examined, 46 children showed no ova or cyst in their stool examination, while 54 tested positive for various intestinal parasites. Seven (07) different types ova of Worm & protozoan were found. These were Ascris Lumbricoides, Pin worm, Hymenolepis nana, Taenia saginata, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia Lamblia and Ankylostoma deudenal. So far the highest frequency of 15% was noted for Ascaris lumbricoides, 12% for pinworm & 10% for Hymenolepis nana, followed by Taenia saginata, Entamoeba histilytica, Giradia lambellia & Ankylostoma deudenale in the percentages of 7%, 7%, 2% & 1% respectively. In our study population the more abundant was Ascaris while the least common was Giardia & ankylostoma. The common clinical presentation of children’s, suffering from various intestinal parasites, of which the most common was recurrent abdominal pain & discomfort in (37.04%), diarrhea in (12.96%), bloody diarrhea in (3.7%), Vomiting in (7.4%), urticaria in (3.7%), itching in (9.26%), anemia & pale in (18.52%) and Cough in (7.41%) Children.
Conclusions: A very high percentage (54%) of children from various areas of Bannu City have intestinal worm infestation and majority of them (28.77% of positive cases) have Ascaris lumbricoides. The main risk factors for high prevalence are poor sanitation, open field defecation, unclean stagnant water source and low economic standard.
KEY WORDS: Worm infestation, Bannu, KPK.

Download complete article