Probing the Burden of Gastrointestinal Parasitic Infections in Four Urban Communities of Port Harcourt: A Retrospective Study in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Most studies on the burden of intestinal parasitic infections have largely been focused on the perceived vulnerable populations, such as rural community dwellers, children, and pregnant women. This perspective, however, tends to overlook the migration flux between urban and rural settings, as well as the living conditions of the rural poor, which may be factors in the disease transmission. This study was thus tailored to assess the burden of gastrointestinal parasitic infections in four urban communities of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Methodology: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, the laboratory records of patients aged 1-61 years from four urban communities in Port Harcourt, suspected of being infected with intestinal parasites, who had their stool specimens analyzed for parasites at Diagnostix and Scientifique Laboratories, a private medical laboratory, between January and October 2023. The collection of stool samples, the macroscopic and microscopic examination of the specimens, and the recording of the results complied with the laboratory’s Internal Standard Operating Procedure. Results: The overall burden of intestinal parasites as found in this study was 46%, with 157 of the 341 subjects infected with at least one parasite, including two protozoa and three helminths. The protozoa, Entamoeba histolytica, was the most prevalent, infecting 40.8 % of the tested persons, followed by another protozoa, Giardia lamblia (3.8%); among the Helminthes 3.5%, were infected by Trichuris trichiura (whipworms): 3.2%, for Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworms) and prevalence of 2.1% for Ancylostoma duodenale (hookworms). Conclusion: The high prevalence of intestinal parasites as observed in this study is worrying and unacceptable; moreover, the high prevalence recorded for protozoa, particularly Entamoeba histolytica, is a cause for concern. This study has contributed towards ascertaining the public health burden of intestinal parasitic infections in four urban communities; it is therefore a call for actionable public health interventions aimed at mitigating the public health threat posed by the unacceptable burden.