Background: Intestinal parasitic infection is a serious health problem in developing countries mainly in children, whichleads to child mortality and morbidity. Objective: To assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of intestinal para- sitic infection among underfive children in UoG Hospital.Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2015 to June 2015, a total of 277 children were selected by using systematic random sampling technique. Direct wet mount and formol-ether concentration technique was used for identification of IP; also, an interview-based questioner was prepared to assess the socio-demographic status (of parents and children) and associated risk factors of those under five children. Re- sult: A total of 277 children [(148 (53.4%) females and 129 (46.6%) males] aged 1 year to 5 years was examined for intestinal parasitic infections. The overall prevalence of this study was 25 (9.02%) when examined by wet mount and48 (17.3%) when examined by formol-ether concentration technique. Five (1.8 %) children were infected by multiple parasites in concentra- tion technique. Both intestinal helminthes (84%, 81.1%) and protozoan parasites (16%, 18.9%) were detected in microscopic examination with wet mount and formol-ether concentration techniques respectively. Eight species of intestinal parasites were identified. Of those, the predominant were Ascaris lumbricoides (52%, 35.8%), Hymenolepis nana (20%, 24.5%) and cyst of Giardia lamblia (12%, 9.4%) when examined by wet mount and formol-ether concentration techniques respectively. The least prevalent were Strongyloides stercoralis (1.9%). There was statistically observed association for the prevalence of IP with age, hand washing habit of parents and shortening of fingernails habit of parents. Conclusion: The result of this study indicated that helminthic infection is more predominant than protozoan infection. Children who come from parents who had no hand wash- ing habit and had no shortening fingernails habit were more affected by IP; therefore, Personal hygiene of parents of underfive children must be improved.
Key words: Intestinal parasitic infection, associated risk factors, under five children.
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