CORRELATION OF HAEMOGLOBIN LEVEL WITH INTESTINAL PARASITES IN SCHOOL CHILDREN
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Objective: To find out the pattern of parasitic infestation and its effect on hemoglobin level in school
children at Hayatabad area of Peshawar.
Material and Methods: Stool and blood samples from 230 school children in Hayatabad were collected
during October, 2004 to May, 2005. The stool specimens were examined for parasites using normal saline
and iodine, while haemoglobin was estimated by cyanomethemoglobin method in blood samples.
Results: The overall infection rate was 29.1% (n=67/230), of which 6% (n=4/67) showed mixed infection.
Among positive cases, Ascaris lumbricoides was the commonest (n=26; 38.8%), followed by Hymenolepis
nana (n=18; 26.9%). Entamoeba coli was present in 10.4% (n=7) cases, Giardia lamblia in 9% cases and
Entamoeba histolytica in 6% (n=4) cases. Taenia saginata and Enterobius vermicularis were present in
3% (n=2), while Trichuris trichiura and Hookworm each was found in 1.5% (n=1) cases. The mean
haemoglobin in healthy subject was 13.6 g/dl, while in infected subjects it was 11.4 g/dl, the difference was
statistically significant (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The health status of the school children needs to be checked and worm infestation is a
common problem in school going children.
Article Details
Work published in JPMI is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.