Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Children in Baghdad City

Jasim Shaker, Mohammed; Abdulkhaleq Hussein, Rawaa

	Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Children in Baghdad City
journal of the college of basic education
Article 1, Volume 17, Issue 71, 2011, Pages 21-30
Authors
Mohammed Jasim Shaker; Rawaa Abdulkhaleq Hussein
Abstract
Intestinal parasitic infections are endemic worldwide and have been described as constituting the greatest single worldwide cause of illness and disease. This study was conducted in Baghdad city to identify the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among patients with an age rang from < 2-18 years, who were outpatients attending clinic of Protecting Hospital for Pediatrics and Al-Zahrawy Hospital. The fecal samples were examined by the direct smear method and the concentration Method. A total of 730 specimens of feces were examined. Parasites were isolated from 423 specimens. The overall prevalence of infection was 57.9%. The highest prevalence (71.4%) was recorded among the 6-11 years age group with rate of infection in males (59.9%) was higher than in females (56.2%). Overall, protozoa infections (90.1%) were higher than the helminthes infections (17.5%). Giardia lamblia (31.0%), Entamoeba histolytica ( 24.3%) and Entamoeba coli (18.9%) were the commonest intestinal protozoan identified, Ascaris lumbricoides and Hymenolepis nana were the most common helminths detected with a prevalence rate of 9.7% and 4.7%, respectively. The relationship between intestinal parasites and age, sex, date of infection and symptoms were investigated and studied. This study showed that the intestinal parasites among children are still an important public health problem in Baghdad city

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