Types of anaemia due to hookworm infection among the populations of Wolisso

Abstract: A community-based cross-sectional study to investigate the association between hookworm infection and anaemia was carried out on 227 apparently healthy individuals living around Wolisso. Of these subjects, 155 were positive and 72 were negative for hookworm infections. It was found out that 32 (20.6%) of the hookworm positvie and 4 (5.6%) of the hookworm negative individuals were anaemic. Chi-square analysis showed hookworm infection was significantly associated with low haemoglobin (Hb), low transferrin saturation (TS) and low ferritin levels. Intensity of infection as expressed in eggs per gram of faeces showed a highly significant negative association with TS and serum ferritin levels (p<0.001) but not with Hb levels. The degree of anaemia could be considered as mild, however, the light hookworm infection could possibly lead to iron deficiency anaemia. When multiple criteria involving elevated mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), and macrocytic blood picture were taken as suggestive of a macrocytic type of anaemia, 20 (13.0%) of the hookworm positive and 4 (5.6%) of the hookworm negative individuals fell into this category. However, the association between parameters suggestive of macrocytic anaemia and hookworm infection was not strong. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1999;13(1):33-39