Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis infection among preschool children, Babol, North of Iran

Enterobius vermicularis or pinworm, is considered as one of the most frequently encountered intestinal nematodes and infects millions of people throughout the world particularly children. Some symptoms of the infection including Anal itching, restlessness, insomnia, endometritis, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and etc. The purpose of the present study was to determine the status of enterobiasis in kindergarten and preschool children of kindergartens from Amir Kola, Babol Mazandaran Province, North of Iran. A total number of 126 (70 boys and 56 girls) children from four kindergartens from Amir Kola, Babol, Mazandaran Province, North of Iran were examined for the prevalence of E. vermicularis infection, 2013. Adhesive cello-tape anal swab method was trained to parents for sampling. In addition, a questionnaire was designed and filled out to collect demographic information for each individual. Data were analyzed using Chi square test and multivariate logistic regression for each risk factor. The overall prevalence of E. vermicularis infection was 22.2 % (28). Infection with E. vermicularis in girls 23.2 % was higher compared to boys 21.4 %. Regarding age of examined individuals, infection was seen more both in boys and girls with the age of 6 years old compared to other age groups. There was no significant difference between gender and age (p < 0.05). Based on the results of current study, prevalence of E. vermicularis in kindergarten and preschool children is high and still is an important public health matter in the north of Iran and should not be underestimated due to being highly contagious infection. Therefore, a systematic control and preventive measures should be adopted to reduce morbidity associated with enterobiasis.