PREVALENCE OF SCHISTOSOMIASIS AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN SELADINGAY TOWN AND ITS SURROUNDING , NORTH SHEWA, AMHARA REGION, ETHIOPIA.

The burden of disease associated with schistosomiasis infections is enormous, with almost<br> 240 million people affected globally, primarily infections occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.<br> The highest rates of infection are often in children between the ages of 7 and 15 years.<br> However, there is no available documented information on the prevalence of schistosomiasis<br> infection and associated factors in the present study area. Therefore, this study was designed<br> to determine the prevalence of schistosomiasis and to identify associated risk factors among<br> primary school children in Seladingay Town and its surrounding of North Shewa Ethiopia.<br> Across-sectional study was carried out from March to May 2022, including 214 school<br> children aged 8–17 years. Simple random sampling technique was used to select school<br> children who participated in the study. Stool samples were collected from school aged<br> children subjected to detect the presences of eggs of Schistosoma mansoni using microscope<br> examination. questionnaires were administered to the participating students to collect data on<br> their interaction of schistosomiasis associated factors.The overall prevalence of Schistosoma<br> mansoni infection in this study was 25.23%. The prevalence rates of Schistosoma mansoni<br> among the schools were 11.53, 7.79, 3.43 and 2.49 in Asofe, Fela genet, Begoch gate and<br> Seladingay respectively. The sex and age specific distribution showed that significantly higher<br> infection rates were in males (15.88%) and school children aged between 11-14 years<br> (P=&lt;0.05). In addition, children living in rural area were more likely exposed for<br> schistosome infection than children living in urban areas (p=0.000). The findings from this<br> study conclude that repeated water contact activities such as swimming, infected water used<br> for domestic purpose in open freshwater were the main risk factors (AOR) = 11.873, : 5.864–<br> 24.023, p= 0.001). The findings from this study conclude that Schistosoma mansoni was<br> present in the study area and the school children should avoid to contact with open<br> freshwater and also take mass drug administration treatment were recommended.