ABSTRACT
School-age children are one of the highly susceptible groups to intestinal parasitic infections. There is a wide disparity in the prevalence and distribution of intestinal parasites globally. Once high-risk areas are identified, WHO recommends at least a yearly de-worming program of school children. The aim of this investigation was to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasites among school-age children in Delta and Edo States, Nigeria. Fecal samples of 386 school-age children between 6 and12 years old were examined for intestinal parasites in six schools of Delta and Edo States. Samples were examined for gastrointestinal parasites using formol-ether concentration and Kato-Katz techniques. Data were subjected to odd ratio analysis. Seven intestinal parasites were detected in the stool samples of these children: Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm, Trichuris trichiura, Strongyloides stercoralis, Enterobius vermicularis, Schistosoma mansoni and Giardia lamblia. The difference in prevalence was significantly lower in Edo State [35.98%] than in Delta State [51.54%]. A. lumbricoides followed by hookworm infections were observed to be the most prevalent in both States; Delta [42.78%, 28.35%, respectively] and Edo [25%, 13.02%, respectively]. Parasites of lowest prevalence were S. stercoralis [0.51%], G. lamblia [0.51%] and S. mansoni [0.51%] in Delta State, while T. trichiura and S. mansoni parasites were not recovered from the feces of Edo State school-age children. The prevalence of co-infection among infected children in Edo State was 43.47% while that in Delta State was 27%. The preponderance of co-infection by Ascaris and hookworm was recorded in Delta State [26%], with multiple parasitisms in Edo State [4.76%] and Delta State [11.32%]. Heavy infection with Ascaris was observed more in Delta [51.8%] than in Edo [12.5%]. Additionally, T. trichiura [11.34%] was seen only in Delta State children while the most prevalent protozoan parasite was Giardia in Edo State [3.1%]. Intestinal parasites are hyper-endemic among Delta and Edo States school children and thus, there is need for the institution of integrated intervention programs for sustainable elimination of these parasitic diseases