Prevalence of schistosomiasis mansoni in Tauorga town, north-west Libya

This study was conducted in nine localities of Tauorga Town, which is situated in north-west of Libya, with the objective of finding out the present trend of Schistosomiasis mansoni in general population and to plan suitable strategies for its prevention. 1544 people were selected by two stage cluster random sampling and the data was gathered by direct interview from the family members during home visit. Stool samples were colleted and examined for Schistosoma mansoni eggs. The study revealed that the overall prevalence of Schistosomiasis mansoni was 20.85%, which was varied between 1.78% and%55.58 in different localities. Significantly higher prevalence was observed in school age group [28.61%], in males [25.28%] and in localities situated within the area of 2 km from the spring [55.58%]

Breast feeding practice in an urban population of Tripoli, Libya

This study included 350 mothers from the urban community of Tripoli. 94.3% mothers had initiated breast-feeding for various periods, 47.9% of whom fed their children for less than one month and only 13.94% fed upto six months and above. Breast-feeding was positively associated with maternal factors like higher age [35 yeas and above] or parity [5 and above] non-schooling or non-working motherhood, low income group, and joint family system. However, prolonged duration of breast-feeding was associated maximum between 25 to 34 years by age and between 5 to 9 by parity. The main reasons for commencement of artificial feeding were insufficient breast milk [47.43%] and subsequent pregnancy [12.57%]