Epidemiology of intestinal helminth infestations among schoolchildren in southern Uganda

Abstract

To determine the prevalence and intensity of intestinal helminth species among school children in southern Uganda. A cross-sectional survey using a randomly selected sample. Eighteen districts of southern Uganda. Two thousand and four school children aged two to twenty years (93.3%, aged 5-10 years) selected from classes 1 and 2 in 26 randomly selected primary schools. Overall, 55.9% of children were infected with either hookworm,Ascaris lumbricoides or Trichuris trichiura. The prevalence of A. lumbricoides was 17.5% ( range 0-66.7% by school), T. trichiura was 7.3% (0 - 45.0%) and hookworm 44.5% (15.6-86.0%). The prevalence of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura was greatest in western districts while hookworm infection was more evenly distributed across the country. Mass antihelminthic treatment of school children was warranted in 13 of the 18 districts as more than 50% of the children were infected with an intestinal nematode. It is likely that pre-school children are similarly infected.