Original Article
Author Details :
Volume : 7, Issue : 4, Year : 2020
Article Page : 350-357
https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijmr.2020.063
Abstract
Background: Parasitic infections affect tens of millions of pregnant women worldwide, and directly or indirectly lead to a spectrum of adverse maternal and fetal/placental effects.
Objective: To determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in pregnant women and its association with various factors.
Materials and Methods: Stool specimens were collected from pregnant women in a clean, wide mouth, leak-proof screw capped container. Formol ether Concentration technique was performed to increase the yield of the eggs and larvae. Modified Acid Fast staining was done for opportunistic parasitic infections.
Result: Out of the 300 pregnant women screened for presence of intestinal parasites, the prevalence of intestinal parasites was 42.67%. Protozoa (88.65%) were predominant than the helminths (11.34%). The prevalence of intestinal parasites was more in the second and the third trimester as compared to the first trimester. Primigravida women had greater positivity of intestinal parasites than the multigravida. Out of 220 anemic females, 115 (52.27%) had presence of intestinal parasites showing an association between anemia and intestinal parasites. Intestinal parasitosis showed a significant correlation with eosinophilia.
Two independently collected stool specimens for routine stool examination should be sufficient to ensure adequate diagnostic sensitivity.
Conclusion: Routine screening of stool samples for intestinal parasites, especially in anemic, malnourished and women with eosinophilia should be considered as a part of the routine antenatal care. Considering the fact that sanitation and hygiene is suboptimal in most parts of the country, there should be a strong emphasis on the recommendations in the national guidelines regarding deworming in pregnancy.
Keywords: Intestinal parasites, Pregnant women, Trimester, Gravida, Anaemia, Eosinophilia.
How to cite : Paranjpe S, Roopal N , Avani K , Gita N , Preeti M , Prevalence of intestinal parasites in pregnant women. Indian J Microbiol Res 2020;7(4):350-357
This is an Open Access (OA) journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
Viewed: 4070
PDF Downloaded: 804