标题:
Risk Factors for Geo-Helminthiasis in Children Aged 6 - 36 Months in a Rural Health District in Cameroon
作者:
Isabelle Mekone Nkwele, Monono Naiza, Gervais Talla Kamga, Hugues Nana Djeunga, Jeannette Epée Ngoue, Patricia Epée Eboumbou, Suzanne Ngo Um Sap, Evelyn Mah Mungeh, Joseph Kamgno
关键词:
Akonolinga, Soil-Transmitted-Helminths, Children Aged 0 - 3 Years, Risk Factors
期刊名称:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.14 No.2,
March
27,
2024
摘要: Introduction and Objectives: Soil-Transmitted-Helminthiasis
(STH) is a public
health problem in Cameroon. The control strategies currently in place,
particularly chemoprevention, has shortcomings linked to the target population,
which are school-age children. The objective was to determine the prevalence and the risk factors associated with
geo-helminthiasis in children aged 0 to 3 years in a rural health
district. Method: From December 2020 to May 2021, a descriptive and
analytical cross-sectional study of 376 children between 6 and 36 months was
carried out in the Akonolinga health district. This was a cluster sampling in 4 health areas. Stool samples were collected and
analysed using the mini-FLOTAC method. The
results expressed as the number of
eggs per gram of stool. A questionnaire on socio-demographic and lifestyle data was administered to the parents. The Chi-squared test was used
to measure the association between
geo-helminth infection and the data collected. A multivariate analysis using logistic regression was performed (p 0.05). Results: The prevalence of STH was 19.4% (Ascaris
lumbricoides: 16% and Trichuris
trichiura: 8%). Risk factors
were: consumption of contaminated water (AOR = 1.93 [1.03 - 3.6]; p = 0.040), early contact of the child with the ground (before age of 4 months)
(AOR = 4.9 [2.1 - 11.37]; p .001), habit of walking barefoot (AOR = 2.91 [1.1 - 7.97]; p = 0.038), and living in a habitat with unpaved ground (AOR = 7.4 [1.55 - 35.7]; p = 0.012). Conclusion: The prevalence of STHs in infants was high.
Preventive chemotherapy should be extended to this age-group, and other
measures intensified.