Ascariasis is a common public health problem of preschool and primary school children in developing countries like Pakistan. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of Ascaris lumbericoides (A. lumbricoides) infection among children residing in urban areas of Lahore, to provide information on ascariasis to promote awareness and prevention programs between the participants specially on the months or season of higher prevalence. To investigate the prevalence of Ascaris Lumbricoides in the contaminated faecal samples of children residing in urban areas of Lahore, a study was conducted from November 2010 to October 2012 and we collected 3600 stratified faecal samples from six urban study areas. Overall 32/3600 (0.88%) prevalence of fecal samples was found positive for eggs of Ascaris lumbricoides. Area wise highest presence positivity 1.67% was observed in Allama Iqbal Town followed by 1.17% in Samanabad, 1.00% in Wapda Town, 1.00% in Gulberg, 0.50% in Cantt, and the lowest 0.00% in Valencia Town respectively (p < 0.001) The highest month wise positivity prevalence 3/300 (3.33%) (p < 0.001) was observed in the month of September that gradually declined up to 0/300 (0.00%) in the month of March. The results reveal that urban areas of Lahore are susceptible to Ascaris Lubricoides infection and the highest prevalence were observed autumn on the month of September.

The present study investigated heavy metal (HM) concentrations in the water and sediment of the Kunhar River and its tributaries, Kaghan valley, Northern Pakistan. The highest mean concentration was observed for Fe 316 ± 47.4 µg/L and the lowest for Cd 2.45 ± 0.31 µg/L upstream water of this study. The highest mean hazard quotient value of 0.43 was calculated for children through water consumption downstream. The concentration of HM in water was used for the calculation of HM pollution index (HPI) and HM evaluation index (HEI), showing a low level of contamination. The highest mean sediment concentration was found for Fe was 35500 ± 2700 mg/L and the lowest for Cd was 1.96 ± 0.23 mg/L in upstream of Kunhar River. Pollution quantification factors were the highest downstream. Statistical analyses revealed that water and sediment contamination of Kunhar River and its tributaries was mainly attributed to geogenic sources.