Prevalence of hookworm infection: a retrospective study in Kumasi

Objective: To establish the prevalence of hookworm infection among patients who reported at the parasitology laboratory of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for intestinal parasitic investigation. Method: This retrospective study covered available data from January 2001 to December 2011. Records of patients referred to the parasitology laboratory of the hospital were manually reviewed for hookworm infection. Data on age, sex and status of hookworm infection (either present or absent) were retrieved and analyzed by using Microsoft Excel 2007 statistical package. Results: A total of 47 147 patients was reported at the laboratory for intestinal parasitic investigation. Among these patients, 158 patient were positive, representing an overall prevalence of 0.3% (158/47 147). Among the positive cases, the study revealed that the proportion of individuals in age groups