Al-Mekhlafi M S Hesham, Azlin M', Nor Aini U, Shaikh A, Sa'iah A, Fatmah M S, Ismail M G, Firdaus M S Ahmad, Aisah M Y, Rozlida A R, Norhayati M
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2006 Jan;37(1):40-7.
Soil-transmitted helminthiases are a public health problem in rural communities. A cross-sectional study of the prevalence and distribution of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm was conducted in 281 Orang Asli children (aborigines) aged between 2 and 15 years, from 8 Orang Asli villages in Selangor, Malaysia. All the children were infected with soil-transmitted helminthes, with 26.3% of the children infected either with A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura or hookworm and 72.6% having mixed infection. The overall prevalences of A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura and hookworm were 61.9, 98.2 and 37.0%, respectively. Approximately 19.0, 26.0 and 3.0% of the children had severe infection of ascariasis, trichuriasis and hookworm infection, respectively. The prevalences and mean egg per gram (epg) counts for A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura were not significantly dependent on age, therefore age-dependent convexity was not seen in this study. However, the results of this study reveal an age-dependent prevalence and mean epg count in children with hookworm infection. We conclude that ascariasis, trichuriasis and hookworm infection are still prevalent and therefore a public health concern in Orang Asli communities. Severe ascariasis and trichuriasis may lead to other health and medical problems.
土源性蠕虫病是农村社区的一个公共卫生问题。对马来西亚雪兰莪州8个原住民村庄的281名2至15岁的原住民儿童进行了一项关于蛔虫、鞭虫和钩虫的患病率及分布情况的横断面研究。所有儿童均感染了土源性蠕虫,26.3%的儿童感染了蛔虫、鞭虫或钩虫,72.6%的儿童有混合感染。蛔虫、鞭虫和钩虫的总体患病率分别为61.9%、98.2%和37.0%。分别约有19.0%、26.0%和3.0%的儿童患有严重的蛔虫病、鞭虫病和钩虫感染。蛔虫和鞭虫的患病率及每克粪便虫卵计数(epg)与年龄无显著相关性,因此本研究未观察到年龄依赖性凸性。然而,本研究结果显示钩虫感染儿童的患病率及平均epg计数存在年龄依赖性。我们得出结论,蛔虫病、鞭虫病和钩虫感染仍然普遍存在,因此是原住民社区的一个公共卫生问题。严重的蛔虫病和鞭虫病可能导致其他健康和医学问题。