An on-going research programme is being developed under the collaboration between Univerisdad Alcalá,  Mekelle University and the Tigray Regional Health Bureau. Preliminary results were presented at the  annual WONCA meeting in Geneva (Switzerland) in September by Dr.Ignaci Lopez.

Since the end of the last century, the infection by intestinal parasites (IP) among children has been identified as one of the possible factors involved in the malnutrition of children in developing countries. At the same time, it is controversial whether the administration of antiparasitic drugs in this population are systematically improving the nutritional status of children in that context

Our objective has been to check the feasibility of a trial on the prevalence of infestation by intestinal parasites in children in an urban area of Tigray region in Ethiopia and its relationship to the nutritional status of that population as a first step to improve a existing programme of prevention of IP in this population.

A Phase I cross-sectional study in collaboration with the regional office of health Wukro was run  to determine prevalence of intestinal infestation in a sample of children attending one primary health centers at Wukro.