PREVALENCE AND INTENSITY OF INTESTINAL PARASITE INFECTIONS AMONG CHILDERN AT MUKETURI PRIMARY SCHOOL, OROMIA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPI) are among the major health problems in many countries including Ethiopia. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and intensity of intestinal parasitic infections and to identify the major protozoan and helminthes parasitic species among primary school children in the study area .The design of the study was a ccross-sectional school based parasitological survey involving 400 sample student populations drawn from Muketuri Primary School using stratified random sampling method during April –May 2017. The stool samples were examined using direct wet mount, formol ether concentration, modified Ziehl Neelsen method and Kato- Katz methods. From 400 total study participants, 196(49%) were males and 204(51%) were females. The study result showed that 77 (38 % ) males and 100 (49.5% ﴿ females were infected with one or more intestinal protozoan parasites. The overall prevalence of Entamoeba hitstolytica,Gardia lamblia and Cryptosporodium species, were 28.5%, 12.75% and 3%, respectively. The major intestinal helminth parasite species identified were Ascaris lumbericodes, Hookworms, Trichuri trichuria and Hyminolipes nana with their prevalence of infection 16 %, 5.5%. 1.5% and 4%, respectively. The overall intensity egg burden of A.lumericoides, Hookworm and T. trichuria were 872.4, 283 and 605.3 eggs per gram of feaces, respctively. Based on these results it can be conclude that intestinal parasitic infections were one of the major problem of the study area.