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ISSN: 2394-4137 (E) 2394-6318 (P)

IJIMS.2015.135

Type of Article: Original Research

Volume 3; Issue 1: January 2016

Page No.: 211-215

DOI: 10.16965/ijims.2015.135

 

Assessment of Socioeconomic status and the Prevalence of Tungiasis in Jimma and Wolaita sodo, Ethiopia

Suresh Kumar. P. Nair 1,  Zelalem .T. L 1, Tsehayneh. K 1, Mehidi. K 1, Vidhya Ramaswamy V 2.

1 Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Public Health and Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Ethiopia.

2 INCITE, Sri Rams, N. H. Road, Kazhakuttom, Trivandrum- 695 582, Kerala, India.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR ADDRESS: Dr. Suresh Kumar. P. Nair, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Public Health and Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Ethiopia. E-Mail:  sureshkumarpnair@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Background: Morbidity profile of parasitic diseases reflects the socioeconomic conditions of a population. This study was conducted to reveal the socio-economic status and prevalence of tungiasis in different villages of south and south western Ethiopia. Tungiasis is a parasitic skin disease caused by a flea called Tunga penetrans and is endemic in Latin American and Sub-Saharan African countries.

Aim: To study the socioeconomic presentations and prevalence of tungiasis in rural and urban settings of different villages of Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected people, using a standard questionnaire with interview and clinical evaluation. The team visited the selected subjects and studied the socio-economic issues and affecting the prevalence of Tungiasis.

Results: 2676 subjects were studied. Response rate was 100%. The prevalence of tungiasis was 15.15% in Jimma and 23.9% in Wolaita sodo. High prevalence of tungiasis could be significantly associated with the low income, poor housing and low standard living conditions and poor health care behavior of the population (p value <0.001).

Conclusions: This study elicits the link between low socioeconomic conditions of the population with high prevalence of the disease in the communities studied.

KEY WORDS: Tungiasis, Inflammation, Erythemic, Desquamation, Parasitic disease.

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