We sought to evaluate the impact of a hygiene and sanitation intervention program among school-children to control active trachoma and intestinal parasitic infections. This longitudinal epidemiologic study was conducted among 630 students in rural Ethiopia. Baseline and follow-up surveys were conducted to evaluate the impact of a three-pronged intervention program: (i) construction of ventilated improved pit latrines; (ii) provision of clean drinking water; and (iii) hygiene education. Socio-demographic information was collected using a structured questionnaire. Presence of trachoma and intestinal parasitic infections were evaluated using standard procedures. At baseline, 15% of students had active trachoma, while 6.7% of them were found to have active trachoma post-intervention (p < 0.001). Similar improvements were noted for parasitic infections. At baseline, 7% of students were reported to have helminthic infections and 30.2% protozoa infections. However, only 4% of students had any helminthic infection and 13.4% (p < 0.001) of them were found to have any protozoa infection during follow-up surveys. Improvements were also noted in students' knowledge and attitudes towards hygiene and sanitation. In summary, the results of our study demonstrated that provision of a comprehensive and targeted sanitation intervention program was successful in reducing the burden of trachoma and intestinal parasitic infection among schoolchildren.
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Research Article|
December 12 2013
School-based intervention: evaluating the role of water, latrines and hygiene education on trachoma and intestinal parasitic infections in Ethiopia Available to Purchase
Bizu Gelaye;
1Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA, USA
2Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, K 501, Boston, MA, 02115 USA
E-mail: [email protected]
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Abera Kumie;
Abera Kumie
3Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
4Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Nigusu Aboset;
Nigusu Aboset
5Family Health International, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Yemane Berhane;
Yemane Berhane
4Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Michelle A. Williams
Michelle A. Williams
2Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, K 501, Boston, MA, 02115 USA
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Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development (2014) 4 (1): 120–130.
Article history
Received:
March 25 2013
Accepted:
October 11 2013
Citation
Bizu Gelaye, Abera Kumie, Nigusu Aboset, Yemane Berhane, Michelle A. Williams; School-based intervention: evaluating the role of water, latrines and hygiene education on trachoma and intestinal parasitic infections in Ethiopia. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development 1 March 2014; 4 (1): 120–130. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2013.060
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