DETERMINATION OF THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND INTESTINAL PARASITES AMONG CHILDREN (0 – 5 YEARS) ATTENDING EPIDEMIOLOGICAL UNIT, MAKURDI

The nutritional status of children under five years is an important worldwide concern since it influences the rates of neonatal sickness and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the nutritional status and intestinal parasite of children (0 – 5 years) attending Epidemiological Unit, Makurdi. The anthropometric measurements of each child such as weight, height and mid-upper arm circumference were taken from each of the 150 children. Weight was measured using the conventional standard weighing scale. Height was measured using a measuring tape by allowing them stand in an erected position on the floor without any foot wear while mid upper arm circumference was measured using measuring tape. Stool samples were collected and analyzed using direct wet mount technique and viewed under 10x and 40x objectives for identification of parasite. Other information were obtained using standard questionnaire. Data generated were entered into WHO Anthro Software (version 3.2.2) for z scores calculation while comparison of categorical variables was done using Chi-square statistics in SPSS software (version 20.0). There was no high proportion of malnutrition among the sampled children with stunting as the most prevalent malnutrition (24.7%) followed by obese (7.3%) and underweight (2.7%). Stunting was slightly higher in male (25.0%) than the female (24.3%). Children who were breastfed for less than 12 months were more stunted (31.2%) than those who were breastfed for more than 12 months (22.9%). About 7(5.0%) of children were positive of intestinal parasites out which none of them were found to be wasted. Similarly, all the children with intestinal parasites had normal height and weight with none of them been stunted or underweight. Under-five nutritional status in this study fell within the recommendations by WHO because of the relatively low prevalence of malnutrition (24.7% stunting, 7.3%obese and 2.7%underweight) among children in the study area. The need to keep up with awareness is called out at Epidemiological Units, Makurdi.