Intestinal Entamoeba complex infection among School Children in the Ho Municipality

ABSTRACT 

Amoebiasis remains one of the commonest gastroenteritis in Ghana especially among children. The Entamoeba complex comprises Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar and Entamoeba moshkovskii, which are morphologically identical but genetically diverse. Entamoeba histolytica is the only known pathogenic protozoan Entamoeba species. The epidemiology of Entamoeba complex infections within the Ho Municipality in the South-Eastern part of Ghana has not been thoroughly investigated and the aim of this study was to determine the burden of Entamoeba complex infection among school children between 4-15years. This was a cross-sectional study involving 302 primary school children in six communities categorized as Urban, Peri-Urban and Rural. Single fresh stool specimens were collected and examined microscopically using the direct wet mount preparation and formal-ethyl acetate concentration technique for the identification of the protozoan cyst and trophozoites. Structured questionnaire was used to determine demographics and risk factors associated with Entamoeba complex infection among the school children. The overall prevalence of Entamoeba complex among the children was (23.8%) 72/302. The infection was highest among 8-9 years (30.4%) and 12- 13year (28.8%) age groups. Children from Peri-Urban communities were more infected with Entamoeba complex 33/102 (32.4%), compared to Urban 25/101 (24.8%) and Rural 14/99 (14.1%). Risk factors associated with Entamoeba complex infection identified were source of food, fingernails biting/thumbs sucking habits and mother’s level of education. The study advocates intensive epidemiological investigation and molecular characterization of Entamoeba complex in the Volta Region to assess the prevalence and identify the specific species/strains causing infection among school children.