Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infection and Associated Factors among Pediatric Patients at Shenen Gibe Hospital, Ethiopia

Background: Intestinal parasites are either helminths or protozoan that inhabit in gastrointestinal tract. The prevalence and severity of intestinal parasites are high in developing countries where health and sanitary facilities are under development. The parasitic infections mainly affect physical, mental development and nutritional status of young children by transmitting through feco-oral route and penetration of skin.Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and its predisposing factors among pediatric patients in Shenen Gibe Hospital, Jimma zone south west Ethiopia Method: A cross-sectional study was employed from April to May, 2014 among pediatric patients at Shenen Gibe Hospital. A socio-demographic data was collected by predesigned questionnaires and microscopic results of intestinal parasites were collected by direct wet mount. Stool specimens were examined microscopically for the presence of parasite eggs, larva, cyst and trophozoite using direct saline thin smear methodResult: out of the total 371 study participants; 123(33.1%) had one or more intestinal parasitic infections. Seven species of intestinal parasite was identified in this study. The most prevalent intestinal parasite was Giardia lamblia (42.3%) followed by Ascaris lumbericoides (31.7%) and E.histolytica/dispar (13.0%). The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection from participant who wash their hands before meal and after defecation with frequency of always, sometimes and not at all were 5(1.35%), 88(23.7%) and (8.08%) respectively The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection of participants who use pipe, spring and well water as the source of drinking water was 19.4%, 6.4%, and 7.3% respectively. Conclusion and Recommendation: There was significant prevalence of pediatric intestinal parasitosis due to protozoan or helimenthic infection in the study area. There was statistically significant association between intestinal parasitic infections and waste disposal pit, water source, finger nail status of patients. Appropriate prevention and control strategies should be employed to tackle the problem. Keywords: intestinal parasitic infection, pediatric patient, risk factor