Current Status of Soil-Transmitted Helminths among School Children in Kakamega County,Western Kenya

Background. school age children are at high risk of soil-transmitted helminth (sth) worldwide. in kenya,sth infections in children remain high despite the periodic administration of anthelmintic drugs. our study assessed the prevalence and intensity of sth in primary school-aged children in kakamega county,western kenya. methodology. we carried out a cross-sectional study on a population of 731 children attending 7 primary schools in march 2014. children aged 4-16 years were examined for sth by the quantitative kato-katz technique. infection intensities were expressed as eggs per gram (epg) of faeces. findings. among 731 school children examined for sth,44.05% were infected. highest prevalence of sth was in shitaho primary school where 107 participants were examined and 62.6% were infected with mean intensity of 11667 epg. iyenga had the least prevalence where 101 participants were examined and 26.7% were infected with mean intensity of 11772 epg. a. lumbricoides was the most prevalent sth species with 43.5% infected,while hookworm infections were low with 1.8% infected. conclusion. prevalence of sths infections in kakamega county remains high. we recommend guidelines and other control strategies to be scaled up to break transmission cycles. © 2016 teresia ngonjo et al.