It was interesting to find Taenia sp. infection
in one case. This indicates that this child
had a behavior of beef or pork consumption,
possibly learned from his/her parents. Hookworm
and Strongyloides stercoralis infections were not
detected, a finding that coincides with their
shoe-wearing behaviors. Alternatively, it may be
that was not sufficiently sensitive, as simple smear
is less reliable than other techniques such as
concentration technique and culture technique. In
this study, there was no statistically significant
correlationship (p>0.05) between prevalence and
the investigated factors (education level, sex,
handicap level and hand washing before meal
(Table 2), which might be due to the small sample
size of children participating (handicapped children
had difficulty with stool collection by themselves
due to their physical disability). Result showed a
high prevalence of intestinal protozoan infection
that indicates contamination of food and drinking
water by fecal material, then subsequent human
infection with protozoan parasites and other
pathogenic organisms. These infections could
directly affect the childrenûs health status, therefore
control and prevention strategies for intestinal
parasites in handicapped school children and other
school children are needed.