Prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar and Giardia lamblia infections among children in Sebha and Mourzak cities, Libya.

Abstract

Intestinal parasitic infection is still a major public health problem in the world. The most ofthese parasites are distributed in the tropical and sub tropical areas. The study was conducted on the prevalence of Amoebiasis and Giardiasis among children in Sebha and Mourzak cities. A total of 156 fresh stool samples (86 males and 70 females) were collected and examined from January to December, 2016. The ages of these children ranged from one month to 14 years. P-values were calculated using the Chi-square test,  and were considered to be statistically significant when P less than 0.05.The study resulted that the overall prevalence rate of Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and Giardia lamblia infections was 16.0%. A significant difference was detected between the prevalence of E. histolytica/dispar(12.8%) and G. lamblia (3.2%)(p=0.004). The study also found there was no significant difference (p=0.606)between the prevalence of infection in Sebha (18.7%) and Mourzak (12.3%). The results of stool sample revealed that the general rate of these two parasitic infections was insignificantly (p=0.401) higher in males (18.6%)than in females (12.9%). According to the age group of the children, the highest prevalence of infection was 22.2% and found in the group aged between 6-8 years, with no significant relationship between the rate of infection and ages (p=0.807).Based on the seasonal variations, the highest prevalence rates were recorded in March (37.5%) and the lowest was 4.8% in May, with significant differences between the prevalence rate in different months (p=0.027).