Abstract:
Background. In regions of the world with low resources, such as Ethiopia, intestinal parasite diseases are still highly prevalent,
especially in children. Poor personal and environmental hygiene, as well as unsafe and low-quality drinking water, are the main
causes of this. (is investigation aimed to determine the frequency of intestinal parasites and risk factors among children under
5 years age at Bachuma Primary Hospital in 2022. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from October
2022 to December 2022 at Bachuma Primary Hospital, West Omo Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. Stool sample was collected from
randomly selected children who were ordered to have their stool examined at the hospital laboratory and wet mount was prepared
using normal saline to detect the di9erent stage of intestinal parasites microscopically. Moreover, data related to the sociodemographic
and associated risk factors was collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were computed to
describe the characteristics of the study participants and determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites. Data were entered into
Epi-data manager and analysed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) version 25.0, respectively. Bivariate and
multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, with variables with a p value of <0.05 considered statistically signi=cant.
Result: Infection with at least one intestinal parasite among children was 29.4% (95% CI: 24.5–34.7). Ascaris lumbricoide and
Giardia lamblia were responsible for 8% (26/323) and 4% (13/323) of the prevalence of helminth and protozoans, respectively. A
multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that children whose residence was rural had an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of
5.048 (p � 0.001), those who did not wash their hands before meals had an AOR of 7.749 (p � 0.001), a child with not trimmed
=ngernails had an AOR of 2.752 (p � 0.010), a child who frequently experienced stomach pain and whose source of water was
pond had an AOR of 2.415 (p � 0.028) and 3.796 (p � 0.040), respectively. Conclusion. In this study, the prevalence of intestinal
parasites recorded was low. Rural residency, absence of child hand washing practice before meal, and not trimming =ngernail were
among factors signi=cantly associated with intestinal parasite infection.
