title: A survey of Enterobius vermicularis infection among children on western and southern coastal islands of the Republic of Korea.
abstract: To determine the status of Enterobius vermicularis infection among children living on western and southern coastal islands of the Republic of Korea, children (3-10 years) in 39 kindergartens and primary schools were examined using the cello-tape anal swab method, during July and August 2000. Of 1,661 children examined, 307 (18.5%) were found to be positive for E. vermicularis eggs. The highest infection rate (59.3%) was found in a kindergarten and a branch school of Shinyang primary school on Chujado, Jeju-do (Province). Remarkable differences in egg positive rates were observed in different localities. The egg positive rate for boys (21.3%) was significantly higher than that of girls (15.4%) (P = 0.02). However, positive rates were not significantly dependent on age. The results of the present study show that E. vermicularis infection is highly prevalent among pre-school and primary school children living on the western and southern coastal islands of the Republic of Korea, and indicate the need for efforts to control this infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Hwan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Eun Taek
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Won Hee
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eun Hee
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Sang Mee
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Guk
authors.forename: Jae Lip
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jong Yil
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017229:Enterobiasis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004757:Enterobius / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010270:Parasite Egg Count; D015995:Prevalence