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Research Article Volume 10 Issue 1
Prevalence of intestinal protozoan parasites in school children and its associated risk factors at Grawa town, eastern Ethiopia
Aliyi Bulbula, Beyene Dobo, Zufan Bedewi
Received: January 21, 2026 | Published: February 5, 2026
Citation: Bulbula A, Dobo B, Bedewi Z. Prevalence of intestinal protozoan parasites in school children and its associated risk factors at Grawa town, eastern Ethiopia. MOJ App Bio Biomech. 2026;10(1):1-8 DOI: 10.15406/mojabb.2026.10.00236
Abstract
Background: parasitic infections are one of the major public health problems in developing countries including Ethiopia. The objective of the present study was to assess and determine the prevalence (magnitude) of major intestinal protozoan parasites and associated risk factors among schoolchildren in Grawa town, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: The design of the study was a cross-sectional investigation involving a sample population of 384 primary school children at Grawa primary school who were voluntary during May-July 2018. 384 fresh stool samples of children were examined using direct wet-mount, Formal-Ether concentration and Modified Ziel-Neelsen methods. Of the 384 faecal samples examined, 222 (57.8%) were male and 162(42.2%) were female children. Results: It was found that 41/222 (18.5%) male and 35/162 (21.6%) female children were infected with intestinal protozoan parasites. The overall prevalence of infections with different types of intestinal protozoan parasites was (19.8%). From the prevalence of protozoan parasites, E. histolytica, G. lamblia and Cryptosporidium infection was 9.1%, 7.3% and 3.4%, respectively. The risk factors that are most associated with intestinal protozoan parasites were eating unwashed fruits, drinking, washing and utilization of unprotected water and because of latrine quality problem (p<0.05). Infection of children with protozoan parasite leads to underweight because it shares nutrients that needs for the development of child. Conclusion: The findings suggested that, personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, water treatment and health education are needed to reduce the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among schoolchildren in the study area.
Keywords: anthropometric measurement, Grawa, prevalence, protozoan, primary school children, risk factors
©2026 Bulbula, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.
