Effectiveness of intervention with mass chemotherapy for soil-transmitted helminths among primary school children in Bagamoyo district, Tanzania.

Abstract

Background: In most countries where soil-transmitted helminths (geoheminths) are endemic, school-age children have the highest prevalence and bear the greatest intensity of infection. A deworming programme represents one of the most efficient and cost-effective means to improve child health and education. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of intervention with mass chemotherapy for soil-transmitted helminths among primary school children in Bagamoyo district. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design, cluster sampling was used to obtain 300 children of standard I-V of Mlingotini and Pande primary schools. Questionnaires were administered to obtain demographic information, knowledge and factors related to soil- transmitted helminths infection. Fresh stool samples (≤ 24 hours) were collected from every participant and examined by the Kato-Katz thick smear technique to determine infection status. Results: Proportion of the school children who received Albendazole during the last distribution was 97.7% and the prevalence of geohelminths was 0% based on microscopic examination. 63% of the children had poor knowledge regarding soil-transmitted helminths, 23% had adequate knowledge and 14% had moderate knowledge. It was statistically significant that the level of knowledge was increasing with age, Chi squire for age group with level of knowledge was 3.26 and p value <0.05. Some risk factors for having soil-transmitted helminths were high, 89% of the children were drinking untreated water at their home. Also 64% of the children mentioned sand as their toilet floor material and 0.3% reported never wearing shoes when visiting toilets. Conclusion: Health promotion activities to enhance awareness are important in ensuring that the risks for being infected with soil-transmitted helminths are minimal if not eliminated. Regular mass treatment should be maintained so as to ensure that the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths remains zero.