Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Protozoan Infections among the Tea Estates Workers of Ilam District, Nepal

Introduction: Intestinal protozoan infections continue to remain a global public health challenge, particularly in developing countries. Since diagnosis of these parasites is difficult, prevalence data on intestinal protozoa is scarce. Objectives: To measure the prevalence of intestinal Protozoan Infections and to identify risk factors associated with Protozoan Infections among the tea garden workers in Ilam district of Nepal. Materials and Methods: A Community based cross-sectional study was conducted among tea garden workers in Ilam district of Nepal. Out of 4 tea estates in Ilam District, 2 tea estates (Ilam Municipality and Kanyam) were selected randomly. Out of total 150 tea workers (30 in Ilam Municipality and 120 in Kanyam), 98 workers participated in the study. Semi-structured questionnaire was used and routine examination of stool was done. Collected data was entered in Microsoft excel and analysed. Results: Prevalence of protozoan infections among the Tea Estates workers of Ilam District was 22.4%. Giardia lamblia was seen higher (12.2%) than Entamoeba histolytica (10.2%). Regarding ethnicity, the protozoan infection was seen higher among Dalit (40%) than Janajati (18.8%) and Brahmin/Chhetri (11.1%) (P<0.05). The protozoan infections was seen lower who use of soap and water after defecation (6.2%) than those using only water (60%) (P<0.001). The protozoan infections was also seen lower who wear sandals or shoes (17.3%) than those did not wear (47.1%) (P<0.05). The protozoan infection was seen higher among those having the habit of nail biting and thumbs sucking. Conclusions: There is relatively high prevalence of intestinal protozoan infection among the Tea garden workers in Ilam District of Nepal. This obviously suggests that there is possible poor personal hygiene, sanitation, and behavior oriented risk factors which predispose the workers to these parasites.