Prevalence of Intestinal Helminth Parasites and Its Association with Hygiene in Funtua Local Government Area, Katsina State, Nigeria

Intestinal helminth parasites are one of the most common parasites which causes significant public health burden globally with children being the most vulnerable population group. A study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminth parasites and its association with hygiene practices in Funtua local government, Katsina state, Nigeria. A total of 180 stool samples were collected from school-aged children across six primary schools and analyzed using Kato-Katz techniques. Also, a questionnaire was used to assess the level of hygiene. An overall prevalence of 41.7% was recorded. Four intestinal helminth parasites were observed; Ascaris lumbricoides with highest prevalence of 36.7%, Trichuiris trichura 6.1%, Hookworms 6.1% and Schistosoma mansoni with the least prevalence of 4.4%. Prevalence based on gender showed that male had the highest prevalence of 53.7% compared to female with 31.6% (RR>1). Those that do not washed vegetables before use recorded high prevalence of 78.9% than those that washed 40.2% (RR<1). The high prevalence was observed among those with untrimmed fingernails (46.3%) compared to 36.5% with trimmed fingernails (RR<1). The presence of helminthes parasites was found to be associated with hygiene in the study area. There is need for health education to the general public on good personal hygiene. Keywords: Prevalence, Intestinal helminths, Hygiene, Parasites, Funtua.