Direct Microscopy of Stool Samples for Determining the Prevalence of Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections among Primary School Children in Kaduwela MOH Area of Sri Lanka following Floods in 2016

Table 3

Health practices towards preventing parasitic infections.

Variable	Category	Number	Percentage
Washing hands with soap before meals	Always	227	60.8%
	Sometimes	134	35.9%
	Seldom/ never	12	3.2%
Washing hands with soap after using the toilet	Always	330	88.4%
	Sometimes	39	10.4%
	Seldom/ never	4	1.1%
Washing fruits and vegetables prior to consumption	Always	306	82.1%
	Sometimes	64	17.1%
	Seldom/ never	3	0.8%
Wearing slippers outdoors	Yes	203	54.4%
	No	170	45.6%
Child playing with/ handling soil	Yes	306	82.0%
	No	67	17.9%
Type of toilets used by children	Flush toilet	321	86.1%
	Pit latrine	52	13.9%
Main source of drinking water	Tap water	274	73.4%
	Protected well	76	20.3%
	Unprotected well	12	3.2%
	Public well	2	0.5%
	Tube well	9	2.4%
Drinking water treated by boiling or filtration	Yes	250	67.1%
	No	123	32.9%