Abstract

Giardia lamblia is one of the most prevalent protozoan parasites worldwide. Due to its potential impact in public health, especially among children and In Brack Al-Shati, studies exploring Giardia lamblia prevalence still in paucity. therefore the present work was performed to estimate the prevalence of G. lamblia among school children. A total of 1110 stool samples were collected from 548 boys and 562 girls and scrutinized for the presence of the parasite. The ages of the children were from 6 year to15 years. All stool samples collected were subjected to microscopic examination using direct (wet mount) and concentration (formalin-ether) methods. The overall prevalence of the parasite was 1.80%. The prevalence rates among boys and girls were 2.19 % and 1. 42% respectively. The infection was recorded in all ages except the youngest (6 years) and the oldest (15 years old). The age 8 years showed the highest rate (4.13%) and 13 years showed the lowest rate (0.61%). Giardia lamblia prevalence was also varies between child school, the highest was in Al-Majd school (5.69%), and the lowest was in Tamzawa school (0.55%). The present study was the first attempt to demonstrate the prevalence of G. lamblia among schoolchildren in the region and all children vulnerable to infection regardless their genders, age, school, and class grade.