A total of 200
soil samples taken from different sites and 1,504 stool samples collected from
school children (n = 188) and
patients (n = 1,316) visiting the
health care centres in Kathmandu Valley were included in this study.
Soil samples were investigated for the presence of parasitic
eggs using
sucrose flotation technique. Stool samples were examined by formal-
ether concentration and direct smear
techniques. The
contamination rate of
soil with parasitic
eggs and
larvae was found to be 28.5% (57/ 200). The overall
parasitic infection rates in
school children and
patients were 42.5% and 2.8%, respectively. Four types of
parasites were detected from
soil samples, of which
Ascaris was the most common.
Trichuris was most common among
school children whereas
Ascaris in
patients.
Females in both study groups had higher
prevalence compared with
male counterparts with significantly low rate in
health care centre visiting
patients (p < 0.05).