title: Impact of acute diarrhoea on parasite loads.
abstract: Parasites and diarrhoea are more frequent in poor populations. Parasite prevalence rates in post-diarrhoeal patients of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDRB) and in non-diarrhoeal populations of two Dhaka poor socioeconomic communities have been compared to explore if there is any effect of acute diarrhoea on parasite prevalence rates. Stool of a 4% systemic randomly selected sample of diarrhoeal patients and the whole population of two local poor communities have been examined. The results showed that the prevalence of parasites in a post-diarrhoeal population is significantly lower than in a non-diarrhoeal population. These reductions (E. hist. 10.2% vs. 2.03%, G. lamb. 9.7% vs. 3.5%, hookworm 37.4% vs. 4.7% and Ascaris lumbricoides 81% vs. 20.6%) may be attributed mainly to the flushing effect of diarrhoea.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: M U
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shahidullah
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Begum
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003906:Developing Countries; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000150:complications*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012036:Refugees; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology