INTESTINAL PARASITIC INFESTATION IN HEALTHY SCHOOL CHILDREN OF LALITPUR DISTRICT

Stool sample of 515 healthy urban and rural school children of Lalitpur district in the age group between 7-12 were collected and tested for the presence of ova and cyst of helminths and protozoan. A total of 81.94% of the children were found infested with parasites. Both rural and urban children exhibited similar pattern of infestation. No association of the infestation with the localities is observed (X2 = 2.17). A very great prevalence of helminths especially Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichuria compared to protozoan was observed. Among rural and urban children, total A. lumbricoides infestation was 73.45% and 71.66% and T. trichuria infestation was 27.27% and 37.91% respectively. 78.36% and 84.07% of the male, and 92.45% and 73.72% of the female children from the urban and rural respectively were found infested with the protozoan and helminths. The infestation was not associated with particular gender (X2 = 0.1121). The helminth parasitic infestation rate is very high compared to protozoan parasites among the school going children, hence the parents and the children should be made aware of the problem. Key Words: Helminths, Protozoan, Lalitpur, Children, Prevalence, Water.