Prevalence of intestinal parasites among urban and rural population in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu

Authors

  • N. Mareeswaran Department of Community medicine, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India
  • A. K. Savitha Department of Community medicine, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India
  • S. Gopalakrishnan Department of Community medicine, Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20182199

Keywords:

Worm infestation, Sanitation, Hygiene, Socioeconomic status

Abstract

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections are globally endemic and is a major public health problem of concern. The prevalence is high in developing countries like India probably due to poor sanitary conditions and improper hygiene. Among the various intestinal parasites, the prevalence of Entamoeba, Ascaris, Ancylostoma, Giardia and Trichuris have been studied in this research.

Methods: This is a cross sectional study which involves 205 urban and 185 rural populations. The data was collected from the Urban and Rural health training centres in Anakaputhur and Padappai of Kancheepuram district respectively over a period of three months from August 2017 to October 2017. Data entry was done in MS Excel and analysis was carried out in SPSS software version 22. The analysis was done using descriptive and analytical statistical methods.

Results: Among the rural and urban population, 185 stool samples from the rural population showed nearly 50.8% intestinal parasites (E. histolytica 40%, A. lumbricoides 2%, A. duodenalae 5%, Giardia 1%, T. trichura 3%). On the contrary 205 stool samples from urban population showed 23.4% of intestinal parasites (E. histolytica 18%, A. lumbricoides 2%, A. duodenalae 5%, Giardia 0%, T. trichura 0%). The increase in the prevalence of intestinal parasites among rural population than the urban population was statistically significant.

Conclusions: The stool samples collected from rural population showed high prevalence of intestinal parasite infestation when compared to urban population, hence necessary interventions like health education, awareness creation and medical intervention should be undertaken particularly among the rural population.

References

Parasitic infections. San Francisco: Health line; 2005. Available from: http://www.healthline.com/ health/parasitic-infections#overview1. Accessed 12 January 2018.

Parasites. USA: Centers for disease control and prevention. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/ parasites/about.html. Accessed 12 January 2018. Accessed 12 January 2018.

Kang G, Mathew MS, Prasanna Rajan D, Daniel JD, Mathan MM, Mathan VI, et al. Prevalence of intestinal parasites in rural Southern Indians. Tropical Med Int Health. 1998;3(1):70-5.

Dhanabal J, Selvadoss PP, Muthuswamy K. Comparative study of the prevalence of intestinal parasites in low socioeconomic areas from South Chennai, India. J Parasitol Res. 2014;2014:630968.

Manochitra K, Padukone S, Selvaratthinam PA, Parija SC. Prevalence of intestinal parasites among patients attending a tertiary care centre in South India. Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2016;5(9):190-7.

Fernandez MC, Verghese S, Bhuvaneswari R, Elizabeth SJ, Mathew T, Anitha A, et al. A comparative study of the intestinal parasites prevalent among children living in rural and urban settings in and around Chennai. J Commun Dis. 2002;34(1):35-9.

Intestinal worms. World Health Organization:1948. Available from: http://www.who.int/intestinal_ worms/epidemiology/en. Accessed 12 January 2018.

India. Department of health and family welfare. National deworming day: Guidance Note to States/UTs Participating in National Deworming Day

August 2017 Round. New delhi: Ministry of Health and Family welfare; 2017.

Adam RD. Biology of Giardia lamblia. Clinical microbiology reviews. 2001;14(3):447-75.

Parasites-Giardia. USA: Centers for disease control and prevention. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/infection-sources.html. Accessed 12 January 2018.

Jayalakshmi S, Dharanidevi S. The Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southern India-A Retrospective Study. Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2016;5(10):718-23.

Padmaja N, Swaroop PS, Nageswararao P. Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections among School Children in and around Amalapuram. J Pub Health Med Res. 2014;2(2):36-8.

Downloads

Published

2018-05-22

How to Cite

Mareeswaran, N., Savitha, A. K., & Gopalakrishnan, S. (2018). Prevalence of intestinal parasites among urban and rural population in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 5(6), 2585–2589. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20182199

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles