title: Human infections and co-infections with helminths in a rural population in Guichi, Anhui Province, China.
abstract: Helminth infections are believed to be common in tropical and subtropical countries. A cross-sectional study was carried out in two villages located in Guichi District in Anhui Province, the People's Republic of China, where multiparasitism was investigated using parasitological tests. The data collected were fitted to Bayesian multi-level models to profile risk factors for helminth infections. The prevalence of Schistosoma (S.) japonicum, Ascaris (A.) lumbricoides and Trichuris (T.) trichiura were 0.43% (range: 0-0.87% at the village level), 2.28% (range: 1.69-2.88%), and 0.21% (range: 0-0.42%), respectively. No hookworm infection was found. With regard to multiparasitism, only a 33-year-old female was found to be co-infected with S. japonicum and A. lumbricoides. Multiparasitism was unexpectedly rare in the study area, which contrasts with results from other studies carried out elsewhere in the country. The long-term usage of albendazole for individuals serologically positive for schistosomiasis may be the main reason, but this needs to be confirmed by future studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Fudan University, Shanghai; Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, Shanghai; Laboratory for Spatial Analysis and Modeling, Fudan University, Shanghai. huyi@fudan.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lynn
authors.forename: Decheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Gengxin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zonggui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Liqian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Chenglong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Zhijie
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qingwu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D060085:Coinfection / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population