Prevalence of Hookworm Infection Related Anaemia Among Okeh Memorial Junior and Senior Secondary Commercial School Students in Elele Rivers-State Nigeria

Kemajou S Tchounga, Clement U

Abstract

A total of 750 stool and finger prick blood samples each were collected randomly from Okeh Memorial Junior Secondary Commercial School (OMJSCS) students and also from OKeh Memorial Senior Secondary Commercial School (OMSSCS) students in Elele to determine the presence of Hookworm and level of packed cell volume (PCV). Standard diagnostic methods were used for the analysis. Out of 750 stool samples analysed, 39(5.2%) were positive for the ova of Hookworm. Age group 10-11 years had the highest percentage of occurrence 17(14.4%), while no case of infection was recorded from 18 years and above. Female students were more infected 21(7.7%) than male students 18(3.8%), and OMJSCS had more infected cases 32(8.5%) than OMSSCS 7(1.9%). Packed cell volume reduced with high parasitemia level. Improvement of sanitation and provision of health care facilities are required to control and eliminate all intestinal parasitic infections in the area after preventive measures.