Abstract:
Intestinal parasitic infections are common worldwide and are the major causes of malnutrition
and anemia among pregnant women. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of
intestinal parasitic infections, anemia, and associated risk factors among pregnant women
attending antenatal clinic in Durbete Primary Hospital, northwest Ethiopia. Across-sectional
Hospital based study involving 384 pregnant women was conducted from November 2018 to
February 2019. Stool samples were collected and analyzed for the presence and types of
intestinal parasites using wet mount and formol-ether concentration techniques. Modified ZiehlNeelsen
technique was employed for the diagnosis of Cryptosporidium spp. Blood was
collected and analyzed for hemoglobin (Hb) level.The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic
infections was 39.1 %. Ten different species of intestinal parasites were found: two protozoans
and eight helminth species. No result was found for Cryptosporidium spp. It might be the
limitation of the study diagnosis techinique.The highest prevalence was due to Entamoeba
histolytica/dispar (14.6 %) followed by hookworm (8.3 %). The other infections identified were
Giardia lamblia (7 %), Ascaris lumbricoides (3.4 %), Strongyloides stercoralis (1.6 %),
Schistosoma mansoni (1.6 %), Taenia spp (1 %), Hymenolepis nana (0.8 %), Trichuris trichiura
(0.5%) and Enterobius vermicularis (0.3 %) respectively. The overall prevalence of anemia in
this study was 8.1 %. The mean Hb value was 13.1 ± 0.07g/dl with the range of 6.5-18.5 (Hb)
level. Of the anemic pregnant women, 61.3 % , 29 % and 9.7 % had mild, moderate, and severe
anemia, respectively.The result of multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the
odds of being infected with intestinal parasites were high among pregnant women who did not
cut their finger nails (AOR=7.66, 95 % CI= 1.23, 47.6); among those did not wash their hands
after toilet (AOR=6.11, 95 % CI=2.59, 14.2); among those who had contact with mice
(AOR=2.66, 95 % CI=1.17, 6.03), and among those who cleaned their home gardens
(AOR=2.44, 95 % CI, 1.03-5.63). Relatively high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections
was observed among pregnant women. Provision of health education, improving water
sanitation and hygiene programs and routine stool examination and deworming of pregnant
mothers may help to reduce the burden of both intestinal parasitic infection and anemia in
pregnant women.