Influence of disabilities caused by tungiasis on school attendance among school age children in murang’a county; Kenya

Tungiasis is caused by female Tunga penetrans that embeds in the hosts, epidermis. The disease causes morbidity and social stigmatization among the children. It is also a health burden among children and elderly in the endemic areas. It may have negative effects on the economic activities of the infested adults and hence indirectly influence school attendance among children in the affected areas. The study focused on the relationship between the disease and school attendance and a possible cause of high drop-out rates among children of peasant families in Murang’a County in Kenya, East Africa. Cross-sectional survey involving randomly selected 720 pupils from six schools was used. The questionnaires captured data on disease infestation and school attendance among children. Of the participants 3.8.0% were infested while 96.2% had no infestation. Absenteeism and school dropout due to Tungiasis was found to have negative impact on children participation in educational activities.