Ethiopia is a developing country where IPIs are major public health problems with the high prevalence reported [6, 7]. The burden of intestinal parasites, particularly the soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), is often very high in school children and pregnant women [14, 3]. High prevalence of hookworm was reported in some parts of Ethiopia like East Wollega districts [4], Gilgel Gibe dam area [7] and Anbesame health center [8]; whereas northern and southern part of Ethiopia in Wondo Genet [5] and Mecha districts [6] were infected with high dominance of Ascaris lumbricoides.
A cross-sectional study conducted in similar study settings like in Colombia, Venezuela, Nigeria, Gabon, and Kenya revealed 1.2%, 73.9%, 56.8%, 49% and 25.23% of IPI respectively [10, 16- 19]. Intestinal parasitosis is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the tropical and subtropical areas of the world. It is a medical and public health problem in sub-Saharan countries including Ethiopia. Pregnant women are one of the most vulnerable groups for this infection due to their immune suppression during their pregnancy [15].
According to WHO, IPI is considered a public health problem if the prevalence of IPI is greater than 20% [1]. Accordingly, with the prevalence of 43.8%, intestinal parasitosis is one of the major public health concerns in the study area. This finding was comparable with findings from Nigeria 43.8%[20] and Gilgel Gibe dam area, South West Ethiopia 41% [7] and Gabon 49% [18], but was lower than the findings from Venezuela 73.9% [10], Makurdi, Benue state 56.8% [17], and Mecha district, North West Ethiopia (70.6%) [5]; however, our finding was higher when compared to findings reported from Bogota, Colombia (1.2%) [16], Nepal 35% [21], Kwale district, Kenya 25.23% [19], Bahir Dar, North West Ethiopia 31.5% [11], Gandhi memorial hospital, Addis Ababa 25.2% [22] and Debre Markos, North West Ethiopia 27.4% [23].
These variations could be attributable to smaller sample size, the difference in the geographical area and cultural practices, difference in implementation of various intervention strategies, the difference in study settings and time of the study, and the difference in location of the subjects under consideration. The specific type of study subjects, the methods employed for stool examination, and the time of study may have also contributed to the variation [10, 16, 17, 19].
The most identified parasite in the study area was hookworm 106(33.7%) followed by Ascaris lumbricoides 23(7.3%) which was in agreement with reports from other areas in Ethiopia [4, 7, 8]. But, different reports from Venezuela [10], Nepal (21), Kenya [24] and Wondo Genet, Southern Ethiopia [5] indicated the commonest parasite was Ascaris lumbricoides. This disparity might be due to the difference in geography, wearing shoes and level of income.
In our study, being a farmer, walking barefooted and absence of appropriate handwashing habit after latrine significantly increases intestinal parasitic infection. This finding was comparable with the study conducted in Kenya [24] and Mecha district, South Ethiopia [5], but it was not consistent with the study conducted in Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Addis Ababa [22]. This might be attributed to the difference in residence, socio-demography, and level of awareness.
In this study, pregnant women with a habit of walking barefoot were six times more likely infected by hookworm than who wear shoe regularly. This finding was comparable with the study conducted in Mecha district, Hosanna, South Ethiopia and Anbesame, North West Ethiopia were not wearing shoes regularly increases the odds of infection higher than their counterparts. This is because the larvae of hookworm penetrate exposed human skin from contaminated soil [5, 8, 25].
Those pregnant women from farmer households were more likely infected by intestinal parasites when compared with a government employee. This finding was comparable with the study done in Ibadan of Nigeria [20] and Kitale district, Kenya [24] where being farmers (engaged in agricultural activity) had statistically significant association with IPI since this activity enables them to have frequent contact with contaminated soil.
In the present study, washing hands with water only after latrine increases the odds of IPI in pregnant women by 5.36 folds higher. This finding was consistent with the study done in Makurdi, Nigeria [17], Anbesame and Bahir Dar, North West Ethiopia [8, 11] whereas it was inconsistent with the study done in East Wollega [4] and Hosanna, Southern Ethiopia [25].
Unlike our result, research done in Hosanna, Southern Ethiopia reported unprotected sources of water, family size, and low monthly income (<35 USD) had a positive association with IPI [25].