Epidemiological study of parasitic infestations in rural women of Terai belt of Bihar, India

Objective – To determine the prevalence of intestinal protozoal and helminthic infection in rural women populations of Terai belt of Bihar. Method – 404 stool samples from different villages of Terai belt were collected. Stool samples from all subjects were examined on alternate days. Results – The overall prevalence rate of various parasitic infections was 92.32%. The helminth infections (72.25%) were higher than the protozoan infections (15.50%). Entamoeba histolytica (14.25%) and Giardia (1.25%) were the commonest intestinal protozoa parasites identified. Among the helminths, Ascaris lumbricoides (46.25%) and Enterobius (15%) were the common ones. The prevalence rate of Ancylostoma and H. nana was 8.25% and 2.75% respectively. Twenty two samples have mixed infection of Ascaris and Entamoeba. Most cases were infected with a single pathogen except in 22 (5.5%) cases with double infections were noted. Conclusion – Various factors such as source of drinking water, open air defection, habits of moving barefooted, poor socioeconomic conditions, poor sanitation, sandy soil and warm humid climate were found to be responsible for such a high infection. Improvement of safe drinking water supply and sanitation facilities by the construction of toilets could significantly reduce the burden of parasitic diseases in the rural area of the Terai belt of Bihar. In addition, particular importance might be given to health education at the district level.