<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Enterobiasis is a common intestinal parasitic infection caused by the nematode, <italic>Enterobius vermicularis</italic>. To assess the prevalence and to identify the underlying risk factors associated with enterobiasis among preschool children aged 1 – 6 years in Malaysia, 136 children from four nurseries and four kindergartens residing in the urban area were examined for <italic>Enterobius vermicularis</italic>. The cellotape anal swab technique was used for the detection of pinworm eggs. The parents/guardians of the investigated children were asked to complete the questionnaire so as to ascertain the potential risk factors for enterobiasis. The overall egg positive rate for <italic>Enterobius vermicularis</italic> infection was 12.5 %. The prevalence of this infection showed an age-dependency relationship, with higher rates observed among older children, aged 5 – 6 years. Multivariate analysis confirmed that finger sucking and belonging to a large family were significant risk factors of enterobiasis in the population studied. Recent pre-medication with anthelminthics was also found to have a significant impact on decreasing the egg positive rate for pinworm. The establishment of such data will be beneficial for the public health authorities in the planning and implementation of specific prevention in order to better control the infection.</p></abstract>

Enterobiasis is a common intestinal parasitic infection caused by the nematode, Enterobius vermicularis. To assess the prevalence and to identify the underlying risk factors associated with enterobiasis among preschool children aged 1 – 6 years in Malaysia, 136 children from four nurseries and four kindergartens residing in the urban area were examined for Enterobius vermicularis. The cellotape anal swab technique was used for the detection of pinworm eggs. The parents/guardians of the investigated children were asked to complete the questionnaire so as to ascertain the potential risk factors for enterobiasis. The overall egg positive rate for Enterobius vermicularis infection was 12.5 %. The prevalence of this infection showed an age-dependency relationship, with higher rates observed among older children, aged 5 – 6 years. Multivariate analysis confirmed that finger sucking and belonging to a large family were significant risk factors of enterobiasis in the population studied. Recent pre-medication with anthelminthics was also found to have a significant impact on decreasing the egg positive rate for pinworm. The establishment of such data will be beneficial for the public health authorities in the planning and implementation of specific prevention in order to better control the infection.

New insights of <italic>Enterobius vermicularis</italic> infection among preschool children in an urban area in Malaysia

Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Selangor, Malaysia

Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Helminthologia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

New insights of  infection among preschool children in an urban area in Malaysia

Enterobiasis is a common intestinal parasitic infection caused by the nematode, Enterobius vermicularis. To assess the prevalence and to identify the...

Variables	OR	95% CI	p-value
Age groups	3.45	1.08, 13.44	0.048
Finger sucking	3.41	1.08, 10.75	0.036
Large family members	3.16	1.03, 9.62	0.043
Pre-medication of anthelmintics	3.43	1.17, 10.12	0.025

Characteristics	Preschool children
	n	(%)
Age groups (years)
1 – 4	56	(41.2)
5 – 6	80	(58.8)
Gender
Boy	62	(45.6)
Girl	74	(54.4)
Socioeconomic status
Father’s education (>6 years)	136	(100.0)
Mother’s education (>6 years)	134	(98.5)
High monthly household income (>RM900)	136	(100.0)
Working mothers	112	(82.4)
Working fathers	136	(100.0)
Large family members (>4)	25	(18.4)

	No. examined	No. infected	Prevalence (%)
Age groups (years)
1–4	56	3	5.4
5–6	80	14	17.5
Gender
Boy	62	10	16.1
Girl	74	7 9	5
Total	136	17	12.5

New insights of Enterobius vermicularis infection among preschool children in an urban area in Malaysia

Article Category: Research Note

Published Online: Mar 10, 2016

Page range: 76 - 80

Received: May 29, 2015

Accepted: Oct 07, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/helmin-2015-0077

Keywords
enterobiasis, children, urban, Malaysia

© 2016 Institute of Parasitology, SAS, Košice

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Multivariate analysis of risk factors associated with pinworm infection among preschool children

General characteristics of preschool children that participated in this study

Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among preschool children according to age groups and gender in the present study

New insights of Enterobius vermicularis infection among preschool children in an urban area in Malaysia

Article Category: Research Note

Published Online: Mar 10, 2016

Page range: 76 - 80

Received: May 29, 2015

Accepted: Oct 07, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/helmin-2015-0077

Keywordsenterobiasis, children, urban, Malaysia

© 2016 Institute of Parasitology, SAS, Košice

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Multivariate analysis of risk factors associated with pinworm infection among preschool children

General characteristics of preschool children that participated in this study

Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis among preschool children according to age groups and gender in the present study

Keywords
enterobiasis, children, urban, Malaysia