Prevalence of pathogenic intestinal parasites among preschool children in Al-Medina district, Saudi Arabia.

The prevalence of pathogenic intestinal parasites among preschool children in Al-Medina district, Saudi Arabia, was determined through a randomized multistage sampling of 8000 preschool children. Duplicate specimens from each child were examined using a simple sedimentation technique. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites among children screened was 18.4%. The most common parasite isolated was Giardia lamblia (14.5%). This was followed by Entamoeba histolytica (2.7%), Enterobius vermicularis (1.4%), Ascaris lumbricoides (1.0%) and others. Out of the 1462 children positive for parasites, 183 (12.5%) had mixed parasitic infections. Prevalence among preschool children was highly associateed with older age, rural residence, non-municipal water supply, inadequate latrine type, low level of parental education, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.