title: Surveillance for enteric parasites among U.S. military personnel and civilian staff on Joint Task Force Base-Bravo in Soto Cano, Honduras and the local population in Comayagua and La Paz, Honduras.
abstract: A study was conducted in Honduras to address whether military personnel assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo in Soto Cano, Honduras, routinely acquire parasite infections, and the results were compared with those collected from civilian base workers and the general local population in the nearby towns of Comayagua and La Paz. Results from this study report 21 species of enteric parasites among Hondurans living in Comayagua and La Paz, 13 species among local Hondurans working as base civilian personnel, and 3 species among U.S. military servicemen and women. The most prevalent organism found was Blastocystis hominis, infecting 95 people (35.8% of 265 samples). Prevalence rates in this study are similar to documented reports on parasite transmission in Central American countries and other areas of Honduras. Although preventive protocols for U.S. military "force protection" appear to be effective in controlling transmission, continuous surveillance for enteric parasites is warranted because of the high parasite loads in the populations with which military personnel come into contact.
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
authors.forename: Boo H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Kwa
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aviles
authors.forename: Matthew S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.forename: Jaime A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: Miguel G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Isaza
authors.forename: Barrington N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.forename: Donald L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Ann C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: DeBaldo
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Stockton
authors.forename: Eleanor M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Fennell
mesh_terms: D006721:Honduras / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology