ABSTRACT
The present study was undertaken among 258 subjects belonging to 152 houses of two tribal communities (Kani and Malampandaram) settled in Kottoor and Achankovil areas, respectively of Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts in Kerala, South India. The survey covered people of all age groups and both the sexes from the study population. Out of the total 258 stool samples examined, 60 showed ova of one or more intestinal helminthes, showing the overall prevalence of 23.3% with a confidence interval of 18.5-28.45. Among the tribal populations of two areas studied, Achankovil area showed an increased overall prevalence rate (26.15%) as compared to Kottoor area (22.27%). The difference in prevalence rates of the two areas is found to be statistically significant (p-value 0.01). Hookworm infestation was found to be predominant (58.82%) in Achankovil and the remaining (41.1%) was due to only roundworm. Whereas in Kottoor area, roundworm infestation predominated (74.41%) followed by hookworm (18.6%) and other types (6.97%). Analysis of haemoglobin (Hb) level of the 190 study population showed that 66.32% were anaemic (<11 gm/dl) from both the areas. The proportions of subjects either moderately anaemic (7 gm/dl-11 gm/dl) or severely anaemic (<7 gm/dl) were almost same in the two study groups, showing a similar pattern in both the areas with no statistically significant difference. Haemoglobin level in relation to helminthic infestation revealed that in the worm infested group, 81.1% (43/53) was anaemic, as compared to only 60% (83/137) of non-worm infested group, showing significant difference (p value=0.01). Hb level in relation to helminthic infestation also seemed to differ in both the areas. Among the environmental factors studied in relation to helminthic infestation, the practice of hand wash alone was found out to be statistically significant, showing that habit of proper hand wash considerably reduces the risk of helminthic infestation.