Pattern and determinants of soil-transmitted helminthiasis in a rural area of Haryana: A school-based study

• Main Authors: Rohit Dhaka, Ramesh Verma, Raj Kumar, Vinod Chayal, Kapil Bhalla, Ranvir Singh, Ginni Agrawal, Gopal Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2019-01-01
• Series: Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
• Subjects: Anemia; hygiene; infection; prevention; worm
• Online Access: http://www.jfmpc.com/article.asp?issn=2249-4863;year=2019;volume=8;issue=6;spage=1971;epage=1975;aulast=Dhaka

Background: In the world, helminthiasis is the major public health problem in school-age children. More than 60 million school-age children live in intensively transmitted areas and they need immediate treatment and preventive interventions. Methodology: The study was conducted in the rural government schools of Block Beri, District Jhajjar (Haryana), India, and the study was descriptive and cross-sectional in design. The study recruited 300 school-going children in the age group of 6–10 years. Results: In this study, the mean age of subjects was 7.68 ± 1.467 years and prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths was 28.7%. The association between practice of hand washing and practice of washing fruits and vegetables with helminthic children were found statistically significant. Conclusion and Recommendation: Impart health education among community through primary care physician about wash hands before eating food and after defecation, washed thoroughly raw and uncooked food before eating.