Prevalence of Giardia lamblia Infection among Pupils and Students from Selected Schools in Nsukka Metropolis, Enugu State

Abstract

Globally, Giardia lamblia is the most common intestinal protozoa parasite with about 200 million yearly infections in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The  parasite is common in third-world countries with poor living conditions. The current surge in terrorism across Nigeria has forced people to migrate into  relatively peaceful regions and Nsukka has been one of the cities in Nigeria that have witnessed the influx of migrants. This migration aids the spread of  G. lamblia and thus puts the public health of the inhabitants of Nsukka metropolis at risk. The current state of G. lamblia infection in Nsukka metropolis is  not known and this knowledge gap hampers effective planning by public health officers and policymakers to safeguard the public health of the  inhabitants. The objectives of this study were to provide information on the prevalence of G. lamblia infection among pupils and students from selected  schools within Nsukka metropolis and to provide data on the age group that is more vulnerable to the parasitic infection among the studied population  for public health campaign against the parasite. Faecal samples were collected from 170 individuals from five different schools. The faecal samples were  examined for G. lamblia under the microscope using formol-ether concentration and direct smear methods. The prevalence of G. lamblia is 38.2%. The  prevalence is higher in males (40.3%) than in females (36.7%). El-Shaddai Nursery and Primary School (ENPS) and University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN)  recorded the highest prevalence of 53.3% each. Children in the age groups 3 - 7 years had the highest prevalence of 66.7%. Giardia lamblia is widespread  among children and university students in Nsukka metropolis.