Tungiasis Risk Factors In Rural Community In Murang’a County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Tungiasis is high in many resource-poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Tunga penetrans is an ecto-parasite which thrives well in sandy and dirty environments and it causes a skin disease called tungiasis. This study assessed tungiasis risk factors in rural community in Murang’a East Sub county. Murang’a East Sub county is one of the twenty Sub counties which are considered to have high prevalence of tungiasis by the Ministry of Health. The Sub county total area is approximately 110 square kilometers with a population of 98,629 and 26,812 households. The study utilized cross sectional descriptive study design. The research adopted systematic random sampling design to identify the households to be studied where a total of 334 households were selected to participate in the study as determined by Fisher et al 1998 formula. Household heads or their representatives were interviewed using interview schedule and observation checklist gathered data on environmental factors related to tungiasis. The collected data was entered and coded using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. Chi-square test of independence and Fisher’s Exact Test were used to draw generalization and inferences. Out of the 334 households sampled, 6.9% had at least tungiasis at the time of the study with a total of 35 cases. Most (65.8%) of those affected were children and 60% were males. Most (83.3%) of them were living in temporary houses and had domestic animals especially chicken which they interacted with. Majority (62.9%) of those suffering from tungiasis were not wearing shoes while 28.6% were wearing open shoes at the time of the study. There was significant relationship between wearing shoes and tungiasis (Wearing shoes, p = 0.015). Over half (53%) of the respondents said that tungiasis was still a problem in their community and 52.1% attributed it to poor personal hygiene and sanitation. Generally, respondents perceived those who were suffering from tungiasis as poor and lazy and 49.4% suggested that continuous health promotion on personal hygiene and environmental sanitation could go a long way in controlling tungiasis in their community. The study recommends that the County Government of Murang’a should consider subsidizing acquisition of closed shoes for children and the elderly in households with recurrent tungiasis cases to curtail the penetration of Tunga penetrans into their skin.