Discipline: Health
Stool specimen from 239 randomly-selected Grade II students of General Tiburcio de Leon Elementary School were collected to determine the prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted roundworm infection among these students, and to correlate this with their academic achievement. The formalin-ether concentration technique (FECT) was used to process these specimens.
Ascaris and Trichuris were the predominant parasites detected. Trichuriasis was detected in 46% of the students, while ascariasis was defected in 36% of the respondents. Most of the respondents had light parasitic infection, while only 1.8% had moderate infection. There is higher prevalence of these infections among males as compared to females, but the difference in prevalence was not significant.
The students' GPAs as measure of their academic achievement were correlated with the existence of infection. A significant negative correlation was found (r = -0.204, p < 0.05) between these two variables. This means that students without infection have the tendency to have higher grade.
ISSN 2243-9129 (Online)
Philippine E-Journals
