title: Survey for intestinal parasites in Belize, Central America.
abstract: A stool survey was carried out in 5 villages in the Toledo district of the Central American country of Belize. Eighty-two percent of a total population of 672 participated. The stools were examined by the formalin-ethyl-acetate concentration technique. Sixty-six percent of the population was found to have one or more intestinal parasites. The most common infection was hookworm (55%) followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (30%), Entamoeba coli (21%), Trichuris trichiura (19%), Giardia lamblia (12%), Iodamoeba beutschlii (9%), and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (6%). Other parasites found were Entamoeba hartmani, Strongyloides stercoralis, Endolimax nana, Isospora belli, and Chilomastix mesnili. Children were more often infected than adults and more females had hookworm infections. Sixty percent of 111 households surveyed had dirt floors, 43% were without toilets, 35% of the houses were overcrowded, and 10% obtained drinking water from streams. Cross-tabulation and logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk and protective factors associated with parasitoses. The risk factors were: being in the Mayan Ketchi population group, and abtaining housework and drinking water from streams. Protective factors were: drinking treated water and the wearing of shoes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Pote
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aimpun
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hshieh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001531:Belize / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003441:Crowding; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012499:Sanitation; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012775:Shoes; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014867:Water / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D014867:Water