학술논문

The distribution of intestinal helminth infections in a rural village in Guatemala
Document Type
article
Source
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. March 1993 88(1)
Subject
Ascaris lumbricoides
Trichuris trichiura
hookworm
Guatemala
Epidemiology
Language
English
ISSN
0074-0276
Abstract
Fecal egg count scores were used to investigate the distribution and abundance of intestinal helminths in the population of a rural village. Prevalences of the major helminths were 41% with Ascaris lumbricoides 60% with Trichuris trichiura and 50% with Necator americanus. All three parasites showed a highly aggregated distribution among hosts. Age/prevalence and age/intensity profiles were typical for both A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura with the highest worm burdens in the 50-10 year old children. For hookworm both prevalence and intensity curves were convex in shape with maximum infection levels in the 30-40 year old age class. Infected females had higher burdens of T. trichiura than infected males in all age classes of the population; there were no other effects of host gender. Analysis of associations between parasites within hosts revealed strong correlations between A. lumbricoides and T. lumbricoides and T. trichiura. Individuals with heavy infections of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura showed highly significant aggregation within households. Associations between a variety of household features and heavy infections with A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura are described.