Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections among Antenatal Women in Primary Care Settings in Southern India: Prevalence, Associated Factors and Effect of Anti-Helminthic Treatment

Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease

article

Revathi Ulaganeethi¹  Ganesh Kumar Saya¹  Nonika Rajkumari²  Swetha S. Kumar¹  Kalaiselvan Ganapathy³  Gowri Dorairajan⁴ 

[1] Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research;Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research;Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital;Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research

关键词: STH infections;    pregnancy;    cure rate;    community-based;    prevalence;   

DOI  :  10.3390/tropicalmed8010048

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Community-based studies from India on prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections have reported estimates as high as 50% in children. However, prevalence estimates during pregnancy in India are lacking. We aimed to describe the burden, associated factors of STH and cure rate after deworming in primary care settings. Pregnant women were recruited from four urban and five rural centers in Puducherry, South India, from December 2019 to April 2022. One stool sample was collected from each participant before deworming and one repeat sample was collected from STH positive woman after three weeks of deworming. The samples were processed with saline; iodine wet mount, and microscopic concentration techniques. Cure rate (CR) was assessed using Kato–Katz thick smear. Of 650 women included, 49 (7.5%, 95% CI 5.6–9.8) had one of the STH infections; the prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm and Strongyloides was 5.4%, 1.8% and 0.3%, respectively. The prevalence of any STH was higher among ages 26–30 years (9.1%), working women (8.3%), multigravida (8.3%), urban setting (8.3%), those who did not wash their hands before food (9%) and anemic women (8.9%), compared to their counterparts, but not statistically significant. The CR for hookworm was 100% and Ascaris lumbricoides was 88.6%. To conclude, the prevalence of STH was low among pregnant women compared to school aged children. Continued deworming activities along with improved sanitation could further reduce the burden.

【 授权许可】

CC BY