Soil-transmitted nematode infection of children and its influencing factors in poverty-stricken areas in two provinces of southwest China / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To understand the infection status and the main risk factors of soil-transmitted nematodes in children in the poverty-stricken areas of Guizhou Province and Sichuan Province,so as to provide the evidences for making suitable control strategies in these areas. Methods A total of 95 villages and 6 primary schools in 6 poor counties in the two provinces were select-ed as investigation sites according to the stratified random sampling method. Eleven preschool children aged 3-5 years in each sam-ple village and 11 school children aged 8-10 years in each sample school were chose as investigation objectives,their feces were collected and examined by Kato-Katz technique. In addition,the village doctor and cadres in each village were investigated by a standardized questionnaire to understand the deworming condition of children and the social economy and sanitary status in 2009. Then the correlation between average soil-transmitted nematode infection rate and its influencing factors was analyzed by the Tobit model. Results A total of 1 707 children from 95 villages in the two provinces were examined. In Guizhou Province,the total in-fection rate of soil-transmitted nematodes in children was 46.1%,and the infection rates of Ascaris lumbricoides,Hookworm,and Trichuris trichiura were 31.1%,4.1% and 10.8% respectively,and the corresponding rates in Sichuan Provinces were 9.8%, 3.6%,3.5%,2.7%,respectively. In the dimension of school,a total of 890 school-aged kids from 46 schools in the two provinces were examined,the infection rates of soil-transmitted nematodes,Ascaris lumbricoides,Hookworm,and Trichuris trichiura in Guizhou Province were 53.8%,32.7%,6.6% and 14.4%,respectively,and the corresponding rates in Sichuan Province were 7.3%,2.2%,2.9% and 2.2%,respectively. The results from Tobit analysis indicated that the proportion of children accepted deworming treatment and the paddy field in the cultivated area were statistically correlated to the infections of soil-transmitted nematodes and Ascaris lumbricoides(all P < 0.05). Conclusions The soil-transmitted nematode infection rates of children are still at a high level in poor areas of southwest China. In order to decrease the infection rates,besides the long-term deworming, water supply and sanitary improvement,and the health education should be strengthened,and the treatment of soil-transmitted nematodes should be covered by the New Rural Cooperative Medical System.