Study of the association of intestinal helminth infections with blood group,  anaemia and nutritional status among individuals visiting Merawi health                              center, Mecha District, Northwest Ethiopia .  M.Sc. Thesis

DEMELASH, AMOGNE

dc.contributor.author	DEMELASH, AMOGNE
dc.date.accessioned	2018-01-05T05:06:54Z
dc.date.available	2018-01-05T05:06:54Z
dc.date.issued	2018-01-05
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/8399
dc.description.abstract	Intestinal parasites are among the most common human infections distributed throughout the world. Helminth infections caused by soil transmitted helminthes and schistosomiasis are the most prevalent afflictions of humans who live in developing countries. This study was aimed to investigate the associations of intestinal helminths with blood group, anaemia and nutritional status among patients who visited Merawi Health Centre. Structured questionnaire was administered to gather relevant information on demographic and socioeconomic data. Stool specimens were processed using wet mount smear preparation and examined for intestinal helminth infections. Haemoglobin level was measured by hematocrit measurement using heparinized micro-hematocrit tubes and a micro-hematocrit centrifuge and blood group was determined using an antisera haemagglutination test. Nutritional status of the study participants was assessed using height and weight measurements. The overall prevalence of intestinal helminth infection in the study area was 53.3%, single, double, and triple infections being 50.9%, 1.7%, and 0.7%, respectively. The prevalence of hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, Enterobius vermicularis, and Hymenolepis nana, were 33.5%, 10.4%, 2.2%, and 2%, respectively. Among individuals who were infected with intestinal helminth(s), the mean haemoglobin level was significantly lower in individuals with two or three helminth species and blood type B. But, it was higher in subjects with single or double helminth infection and blood type O. The odds of being underweight were significantly higher in A. lumbricoides and hookworm infected individuals of age ≤5 and ≥20 years, respectively, when compared to individuals of the same age group without intestinal helminths (P <0.05). The findings showed that there was no statistically significant association between intestinal helminth infections and blood groups (P>0.05). Hookworm infections were considered as the main cause of anaemia among patients and it was the indicator of malnutrition in individuals of age ≥20 years (P=0.000). In conclusion, infection with multiple intestinal helminths was associated with lower haemoglobin level, which was severe in individuals with blood type B. Key words: Helminth, blood group, anaemia, nutritional status.	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	biology	en_US
dc.title	Study of the association of intestinal helminth infections with blood group, anaemia and nutritional status among individuals visiting Merawi health center, Mecha District, Northwest Ethiopia . M.Sc. Thesis	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US