Effectiveness of One Cycle Mass Deworming on Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infection (STH) among Grade 1 Elementary Students of Two Public Schools in Caloocan City

Grace  V. Villanueva,; Cristianice  D. Aliwalas,; Marielle  C. Aricheta,; Karen  D. Del Mundo,; Emieluz Lery  V. Gonzales,; Katrina Ann  B. Marbella,; Marjohn Rey  C. Martinez,; Emmanuel John  C. Ollica,; Vaijanti  Raut,; Meryl Louis  B. Pangan,; Ian  D. Ronquillo,; Cyrille Nickson  H. Sandoval,; Shubham  Shukla,

Effectiveness of One Cycle Mass Deworming on Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infection (STH) among Grade 1 Elementary Students of Two Public Schools in Caloocan City

Abstract:

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of one cycle mass deworming in the treatment of soil-transmitted helminthic (STH) infection among grade 1 students of two public schools in Caloocan City. Methods: a. Study design: Cross-sectional analytic research study b. Setting: The study was conducted at two government schools in Caloocan City, labeled School A and B. c. Participants, Patients or population: School A had a total of 490 Grade 1 students; and School B had a total of 410 Grade 1 students. Stool samples from Grade 1 students were collected one week before, and two weeks after one cycle of mass deworming. Grade 1 students who received deworming medications within 1 month prior to study, those who had severe medical conditions, those who were not able to produce stool samples on the scheduled day of collection, and those who had no consent from the parents were all excluded from the study. Results: A total of 31 samples were obtained in which 12 samples were from School A and 19 samples from School B. Their age ranged from 6 to 8 years old. There were 19 male and 12 female subjects. The collected stool samples were tested through direct fecal smear and Kato Katz method. The most common parasite identified was Ascaris lumbricoides (19.4% before; 6.5% after), followed by Trichuris trichiura (6.5% before; 0 after) and hookworm (3.2% before; 0 after). A decrease with the prevalence of STH infection was observed before (A. lumbricoides – 19.4%; T.trichiura – 6.5%; Mixed infection – 3.2%) and after (A. lumbricoides – 2.65%) one-cycle mass deworming, but it was not statistically significant (p=0.22). There was also a decrease in A. lumbricoides infection from moderate to light infection. Conclusion: Most of the students who acquired the soil-transmitted helminth infection were males around six to seven years old. The most common STH infection among the Grade 1 students was Ascaris lumbricoides. This study was not able to yield statistically significant results due to the lack of samples but still managed to display a decreasing trend in the prevalence and intensity of infection among the sampled individuals before and after a single cycle of mass deworming.

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