The prevalence of helminths infection and health behavior among the school students in the Rural Areas Children and Youths Royal Development Project under the Patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in Buriram and Surin provinces, 2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/dcj.2021.22Keywords:
prevalence rate, helminthiasis, health behaviors, school students under the project of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Kato techniqueAbstract
Helminthiasis still remains a public health problem in developing countries around the world, especially in the tropical region, including Thailand. This work infection still affects vulnerable groups living in the rural and remote areas -- among them children and youth groups. To determine the scale of this health problem, stool samples were collected from 1,720 students from kindergarten to lower secondary school (grade 9) level of 12 schools in Buriram and Surin provinces under the royal patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn during May to August 2019 for detecting helminth eggs by Modified Kato thick smear and egg count for intensity by Modified Kato Katz. The results showed that the prevalence of this parasitic infection was 27 cases (1.57%). The most common age range is 6-8 years, male have a higher risk of infection than female. The top three helminth infections were hookworm 13 cases (0.76%), Opisthorchis viverrini (Ov) 6 cases (0.35%), and Trichuris trichiura (Tt) 3 cases (0.17%). The intensity of hookworm infection was found to be in a low level (EPG<2,000), mean egg count per gram of feces (MEPG) 207, the same was detect for Ov, which was also found to be in a low level (EPG<1,000), with an MEPG of 84.33. In addition to determination of prevalence of helminthiasis, the assessment of the students’ health behavior in the same 12 schools was performed in parallel with stool collection among 905 grade-4 to grade-9 students. Most of them had acquired good knowledge about parasitic worms. Some students were found to have improper health behavior which increased the risk of exposure to helminth such as eating raw or undercooked food, and poor personal hygiene. Only 49.39% of students regularly provided stool sample for examination, making it impossible to determine the prevalence of infection among the remainder of the student population. Therefore, it is very difficult to identify and prevent parasitic infections. This is still an important health issue that affects students’ health. Therefore, there should be a plan in place to strengthen health literacy program to promote health behavior to help reduce the infection and transmission rates.
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