Abstract
This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and its associated risk factors among school-going children in Kathmandu, Nepal. Between August and September 2016, a total of 333 stool samples were collected from children at five public schools. The collected samples were subjected to formol-ether concentration, followed by conventional microscopic examination for intestinal parasites. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 24.3% (81/333), with Giardia spp. showing the highest prevalence of 18.9% (63/333). Samples positive for Giardia spp. by microscopy were further subjected to quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for G. duodenalis, resulting in a positive ratio of 100%. The positive ratio of Giardia spp. was considerably high among children consuming tanker water (27.3%), jar water (21.0%), and tap water (17.5%). Our results demonstrated that G. duodenalis remains predominant in school-going children in Nepal.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank participants for their cooperation during the study. We are also grateful to the technical staff of the Public Health Research Laboratory, Tribhuvan University, Nepal; Tulane University, USA; Sadhana Shrestha; and Bijay Man Shakya (University of Yamanashi, Japan) for their technical support and guidance.
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Tandukar, S., Sherchand, J.B., Xue, J. et al. Prevalence and associated risk factors of Giardia duodenalis infection among school-going children in Nepal. Parasitol Res 117, 287–293 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-017-5706-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-017-5706-5