Intensity of Nematode Infection in Children Aged 3 to 5  Years Living in Mukuru Kwa Njenga Slum Settlement, Nairobi, Kenya.

This study evaluated the intensity of nematode infections and assessed the status of deworming in children aged 3 to 5 years living in Mukuru slum settlement, Nairobi County, Kenya. Methodology. A total of 172 children aged between 3 and 5 years were sampled across the 5 major villages of Mukuru Slum settlement: Kwa Njenga, Vietnum, Wapewape, Kwa Reuben, and Motomoto. Community health workers administered questionnaires on the deworming history of children. Stool samples were collected, macroscopically examined, and microscopically analysed using Kato-Katz technique to assess the intensity of infection. The intensities of nematode infections were expressed as eggs per gram (epg) of faeces. Results: The point prevalence of nematode infection among the 98 children in the 1st sampling was 25.5% with a mean infection intensity of 5424 epg, whereas among the 74 children sampled in 2nd sampling, 47.3% had nematode infection with a mean infection intensity of 12384 epg. The average nematode infection for the 172 participants was 34.9% with a mean intensity of 17808 epg. The highest number of children infected with nematodes was in the village of Wapewape where 34 participants were examined and 36.3% were infected with a mean intensity of 3216 epg. Kwa Reuben and Vietnum villages had the same prevalence values of 32.4% where 34 participants in each village had a mean intensity of 3624 epg and 4512 epg, respectively. In both samplings, more than 80% of children had...
Source: Journal of Tropical Medicine - Category: Tropical Medicine Tags: J Trop Med Source Type: research