A study of the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and its correlation to demography in the eastern Indian population

Abstract

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections are a serious public health problem in the world, especially in developing countries, and account for a major cause of morbidity and mortality among different high-risk groups[1]. Aims: To find out the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and compare and correlate it with gender, age group, and area (rural or urban). Materials and method: This prospective study was conducted at the Department of PSM at Government Medical College, Bettiah, and Jan Nayak Karpuri Thakur Medical College & Hospital (JNKTMCH), Madhepura, Bihar, India. The study was approved by the institutional ethical and research committee. The study was conducted from September 2020 to August 2021. The stool samples from suspected patients were collected and subjected to routine stool investigations during the study, i.e., a macroscopical examination was carried out for the presence of adult worms or their body segments and a microscopic examination, such as stool wet mounts (both saline and iodine mounts) after the Formol-ether concentration technique. Results: Out of a total of 643 patients, 102 (15.86%) had parasitic infections. The maximum number of patients was in the age group of 0–10 years (277, 43.08%), whereas out of these, 36 patients were found positive (13%). A total of 112 parasites were isolated from 102 positive patients. Mixed infections with two parasites were most commonly seen in the 0–10 year age group (7 out of 10 cases). A combination of Giardia lamblia and Hymenolepis nana were most commonly isolated (3 out of 10 mixed infections). The parasite most commonly isolated was Hookworm 35 (31.25%), followed by Hymenolepis nana 25 (22.32%) and Giardia lamblia 19 (16.96%). Enterobius vermicularis was the least common isolate (1.78%), followed by Taenia species (2.68%). Parasitic infections affect mostly male patients (59.57%). and the majority of the positive patients (72%) were from rural areas (64.28%). Conclusion: The prevalence of intestinal parasites was comparatively high owing to poor sanitization and low literacy.