UC Berkeley

Background

Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and Giardia duodenalis are responsible for a large burden of disease globally. In low-resource settings, household finished floors (e.g., concrete floors) may reduce transmission of STH and G. duodenalis .

Methods

In a prospective cohort of children nested within two randomised trials in rural Bangladesh and Kenya, we estimated associations between household finished flooring and STH and G. duodenalis prevalence. In 2015-2016, we collected stool samples from children aged 2-16 years in rural Bangladesh and Kenya. We detected STH infection using qPCR (Bangladesh N=2,800; Kenya N=3,094) and detected G. duodenalis using qPCR in Bangladesh (N=6,894) and ELISA in Kenya (N=8,899). We estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) using log-linear models adjusted for potential confounders.

Findings

At enrolment, 10% of households in Bangladesh and 5% in Kenya had finished floors. In both countries, household finished flooring was associated with lower Ascaris lumbricoides prevalence (Bangladesh aPR: 0.33, 95% CI 0.14, 0.78; Kenya aPR: 0.62, 95% CI 0.39, 0.98) and any STH (Bangladesh aPR: 0.73, 95% CI 0.52, 1.01; Kenya aPR: 0.57, 95% CI 0.37, 0.88). Household finished floors were also associated with lower Necator americanus prevalence in Bangladesh (aPR: 0.52, 95% CI 0.29, 0.94) and G. duodenalis prevalence in both countries (Bangladesh aPR: 0.78, 95% CI 0.64, 0.95; Kenya: aPR: 0.82, 95% CI 0.70, 0.97).

Interpretation

In low-resource settings, living in households with finished floors over a two-year period was associated with lower prevalence of G. duodenalis and certain STH in children.

Funding

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant OPPGD759