Abstract:

To understand the current prevalence of soil-transmitted nematode (STN) infections in Ningxia, total 3 counties (Helan County, Haiyuan County and Pingluo County) were chosen and 5 villages were selected from each county, based on the evenly geographical distribution, as survey sites. Each site included 200 permanent residents with age of over 3 years old. The stool samples were collected from each enrolled villager and the eggs of STNs were examined under microscope in duplicate using modified Kato-Katz thick smear method. Questionnaire was used to collect the information of the respondents. Results showed that an overall prevalence of STN infections in Ningxia from 2016-2017 was 1.4% (83/6 047). The STN prevalence in Haiyuan County (2.2%, 45/2 059) was higher than that in other counties with significant difference (P < 0.05), however, there was no significant difference in prevalence between females (1.6%, 50/3 099) and males (1.1%, 33/2 948) (P > 0.05). Participants with age over 60 or between 40-59 had the highest prevalence (1.7%, 26/1 519 and 1.8%, 33/1 852, respectively) with statistical significance compared to that in other age groups (P < 0.05). Farmers had higher infection rate (1.6%, 71/4 528) than people with other occupations, and participants with education of high school and above had higher infection rate (1.6%, 17/1 034）（P > 0.05) than people with other education levels, but these difference had no statistical difference. The infection of soil-transmitted nematodes keeps a decreasing trend in Ningxia, and it is necessary to adopt different measures and guidance in different areas to reduce the infection.

Key words: Soil-transmitted nematode, Infection, Ningxia