In the past year, stool specimens of 1,732 alien laborers were examined for intestinal parasites. There was no significant difference in the positive rate between males and females. All alien laborers were examined in 3 hospitals and the positive rates were 24.8% (191/769), 13.6% (109/804) and 12.6% (20/159). Broken down by nationality, the positive rates in laborers from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia were 23.9% (192/803), 20.3% (62/305), 12.1% (60/498) and 4.8% (6/126) respectively. Of all alien laborers, 17.2% (297/1,732) had single infections of parasites and 1.3% (23/1,732) had multiple infections. Opisthorchis viverrinii was the most prevalent parasite found in infected alien laborers. 91.5% of alien laborers were aged from 21 to 40-years-old and had positive rates of parasites reaching 91.0%. The time of arrival in Taiwan had an effect in all alien laborers examined for parasites. The positive rate in laborers arriving during April to June was 22.7% which was significantly higher than the 16.3% for laborers arriving in other months.
A prevalence study for intestinal parasites among 305 infants and young children was conducted at the Paediatric wards of the General Hospital Kuala Lum.pur, Malaysia. 40.8 percent of children were infected with at least one type of intestinal parasites: 39 percent were found to be infected with intestinal helminths and 4.26 percent with intestinal protozoa. Ascaris formed 17.38 percent of the infestation followed by Trichuris (14.75 percent) and hookworm (2.95 percent); 0.3 percent of the cases had Strongyloides stercoralis; 2.30 percent and 2.62 percent of the children had Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia respectively. Indian children were the predominant group found infected, followed by the Chinese and Ma lays. A significant drop in infestation rate of soil-transmitted helminths was detected among the Malays. The significance of the changing pattern in the epidemiology of soil-transmitted helminths is
discussed. A brief review of literature is also presented.
A study conducted in. all the government schools in Wilayah to find the prevalence rate of worm infection in. urban schools revealed that 50 percent of the 7,682 school children. examined suffered from helminthiasis. More than 50 percent had mixed infections, worm infection was more prevalent among Malays and Indians. Both males and females had an equal prevalence of worm infection. Schools near the squatter areas had high infection rates. This was attributed to poverty, cultural factors, and environmental sanitation in the squatter areas.
Intestinal parasites of importance to man are Enterobius vermicularis, the soil-transmitted helminthes (STH)--Ascaris lumbricoides Tricburis trichiura, bookworms (Necator americans/Ancylostoma duodenale) and Strongyloides stercoralis and the protozoa Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia duodenalis. Other protozoa such as Cryptosporidium sp. and Isopora sp. are becoming important in causing prolonged diarrhea in immunocompromised patients. It is estimated that almost 1 billion, 500 million and 900 million people worldwide are infected by the major nematode species--A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura and hookworms respectively. Most of the infections are endemic and widely distributed throughout poor and socio-economically deprived communities in the tropics and subtropics. Environmental, socio-economic, demographic and health-related behavior is known to influence the transmission and distribution of these infections. In giardiasis, one study indicates that age < or = 12 years and the presence of family members infected with Giardia were risk factors for infection. Most of the infections occur in children and both genders are equally affected. Epidemiological studies of STH infections have shown that the prevalence and intensity of infection are highest among children 4-15 years of age. The frequency of distribution of STH infections is over-dispersed and highly aggregated. areas reinfection can occur as early as 2 months post-treatment, and by 4 months, almost half of the population treated become reinfected. By 6 months the intensity of infection was similar to pretreatment level.
This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the current prevalence and risk factors associated with intestinal polyparasitism (the concurrent infection with multiple intestinal parasite species) among Orang Asli school children in the Lipis district of Pahang state, Malaysia.
Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) have a worldwide distribution and have been identified as one of the most significant causes of illnesses and diseases among the disadvantaged population. In Malaysia, IPIs still persist in some rural areas, and this study was conducted to determine the current epidemiological status and to identify risk factors associated with IPIs among communities residing in rural and remote areas of West Malaysia.
A total of 246 stool samples were collected from the public who participated in a Medical Fair held at the University Malaya Medical Center. The stools were examined for intestinal parasites using the formalin-ether concentration technique. The overall infection rate was 6.9% (17 out of 246), with Trichuris trichiura being the most common parasite (4.5%), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (0.8%), Clonorchis sinensis (0.8%), hookworm (0.4%), and Entamoeba histolytica (0.4%). None of these participants showed any clinical symptoms. The highest infection rate was among the Chinese 7.7% (13 out of 169), followed by the Malays 7.0% (3 out of 43) and Indians 3.3% (1 out of 30). The highest infection rate was in the age group 16-30 years, which was 9% (6 out of 67). The two cases of clonorchiasis were from two Chinese women aged 28 and 66 years. The 28-year-old Chinese woman was born in Malaysia and had never left the country, while the older woman was also born in Malaysia but had visited Hong Kong as a tourist on two occasions. Both enjoyed eating raw fresh water fish with porridge.
In this prospective study, we examined stool specimens from children with cancer receiving chemotherapy who were admitted for fever to the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital in Kota Baru, Kelantan. Stool specimens were examined for ova and cysts of parasites. Over a period of 15 months, there were 129 febrile episodes in 50 children with cancer and, in all, 237 stool specimens were examined. Sixty-six per cent of febrile episodes were associated with neutropenia and 9 per cent were associated with diarrhoea. Stool parasites were found in 42 per cent of children. The most common were helminths, followed by protozoa. Trichuris trichiura was the most common parasite (24 per cent), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (22 per cent). Hookworm was found in 2 per cent. Giardia lamblia was found in 6 per cent of children, Blastocystis hominis in 4 per cent, and Cryptosporidium parvum in 2 per cent.
Blastocystis hominis has long been described as a non pathogenic protozoan parasite until recently when claims have been made that it can result in pathogenic conditions. Of the 729 stool samples (614 from survey and 115 from pediatric wards) examined, 18.1% of them were found to be positive for one or more intestinal protozoan cyst. The commonest was Giardia intestinalis (8.4%) Followed by Entamoeba coli (7.1%) and Entamoeba histolytica (5.1%) in the normal children without symptoms of diarrhea. When diarrheic stools were examined, the commonest parasite encountered was Giardia (20.4%), followed by E. coli (15.9%) and E. histolytica (9.7%). Blastocystis was observed in 4.4% of the children who had diarrhea and 1.1% among the children taken from the normal population in the rural areas.
The infection rate and relationship of enterobiasis with socio-economic status were determined in children aged 1-8 years, living in a rural area in Malaysia. Of the 178 subjects 40.4% were infected with Enterobius vermicularis. The distribution of enterobiasis among these children were analyzed in relation to age groups and sex. The rate of infection was significantly higher in older children (5-7 years). The association of enterobiasis with other factors studied such as number of persons per house, household income per months and mother's employment status were not significant. The sensitivity of three successive days anal swabs compared to a single swab was found to be statistically significant.
About two-thirds (67.6%) of 142 Ibans (from birth to 90 years of age) from 26 house-holds in a longhouse in Nanga Atoi in the Second Division of Sarawak were infected with intestinal parasites. The more common helmintic infections were hookworms (47.2%) and Trichuris trichiura (43.0%). Intestinal protozoan infections were less common. Single helmintic infections were more common than multiple infections and the commonest type of multiple infections was Trichuris mixed with hookworms. Malaria and filariasis were not reported among these inhabitants surveyed.