By Wachira Kigotho
Political indifference, corruption and weak education policies are not the only major impediments to realising the universal primary education dream. Intestinal worms, human body pests and lack of sanitation greatly affect access and success in education.
Studies indicate that pupils who suffer from intestinal infestations have short-term memory and slower reactions. Common worms that affect children include whipworms, roundworms and hookworms. But of special concern is the high prevalence of bilharzia among school children.
According to the World Health Organisation, they are more vulnerable because they walk barefoot and play in swampy waters and irrigation canals. More than 60 per cent of children living along the lakes, coastal areas and irrigation schemes are infected by schistosomes, the parasites that cause bilharzia.
Parasitic infestation
Bilharzia and intestinal worms compete for food nutrients and cause severe protein-energy malnutrition, iron deficiency and goitre.
Dr Lina Stephenson, a professor of nutrition at Cornell University, conducted studies in western Kenya on physical fitness and growth of schoolboys with hookworms.
She observed most of those boys had smaller bodies compared to their counterparts of the same age. "They were also characterised by weight loss, appetite loss, decreased activity and poor academic performance," says Stephenson.
Parasitic infestation impacts negatively on the capacity of the body to digest fats and proteins, a situation that leads to decreased food intake. Despite those concerns, little is being done to provide safe water and treat infected pupils on regular basis.
Studies carried by researchers at the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Coast Province and several areas along Lake Victoria link bilharzia infection to anaemia and iron deficiency among school children.
The most intense bilharzia infections are found among children aged between five and 15. According to Dr Salim Sohani of the Aga Khan Health Services in Mombasa, school children are at high risk of contracting bilharzia and other intestinal worms. Whereas the United Nations Children’s fund estimates 40 per cent of all school age children are infested with worms and 88 million with bilharzia, the situation in Kenya is bad.
"More than 90 per cent of pupils in Kwale District are infected with bilharzia," says Sohani, commenting on a programme fronted by Aga Khan Health Services to deal with the problem. Out of a sample of 3,228 pupils between the ages of six to 15 years screened, 2,991 were found to be infected. Similar studies have reported high figures of infection in schools along Lake Victoria and other areas without safe water.
Dr Joyce Onsongo of the Ministry of Public Health’s department of communicable and vector disease control says: "Almost 60 per cent of the population in some areas along Lake Victoria is affected by bilharzia." A large number are school age children.
Retarded growth
Implications of bilharzia and intestinal worm infestations among school children are serious, taking into account that such disease burden occur at the ages of five to 14 years, a critical period for mental and physical growth.
Apart from causing protein-energy deficiency, parasitic infections trigger deficiencies in minerals such as iron, Vitamin A and iodine.
These are critical to physical growth and cognitive development.
Unicef associates iodine deficiency with an average of about 14 per cent reduction in intelligence quotient (IQ) in any given population. "Iodine deficiency in school children leads to reduced cognitive function," says Dr Matthew Jukes, a leading developmental psychologist at Oxford University. Similarly, pupils who suffer from iron deficiency have reduced cognitive abilities and poor attention span in school.
Unfortunately, a third force in form of jiggers has also caused havoc in schools, especially in rural areas and urban slums.
Unlike bilharzia and worms that are found in specific parts, jiggers colonise almost everywhere. However, they are common in settings where children walk barefoot and their schools and homes are made of mud and earthen walls. Here, fleas find perfect habitat.
They have become a menace in Central, Western and Eastern provinces and they are spreading fast in other regions and towns.
Blighted future
Jiggers do not only attack the feet of their victims but also burrow themselves into fingers and other parts of the hand. Consequently, academic performance is affected because pupils cannot concentrate in class.
Severely affected children cannot write properly or play games. They often lose concentration.
Absenteeism is also high in areas infested with bilharzia, intestinal worms and jiggers. Learning is impaired as children develop poor attention, low motivation and poor cognitive skills.
Amid those challenges little is being done to improve learning conditions, especially in the affected areas. To date, there are new low cost de-worming drugs that can remove bilharzia and intestinal worm’s infections with positive benefits for physical state and reactivate mental development.
As for jiggers, disinfectants and water are needed to eliminate their menace and improve prospects of a bright future for the children.
