David Kelleen, Appleton Christopher A, Mukaratirwa Samson
School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, South Africa.
One Health Center for Zoonoses and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
J Parasit Dis. 2020 Dec;44(4):794-805. doi: 10.1007/s12639-020-01270-0. Epub 2020 Sep 18.
Informal settlements/slums are characterised by a lack of adequate sanitation and safe drinking water. Contaminated soil and water sources combined with poor hygiene and environmental conditions results in the transmission of soil transmitted helminths to humans. The aim of the present study was to assess environmental contamination and risk factors for geohelminth transmission in three informal settlements in Durban, South Africa. Each settlement had different types of sanitation facilities namely; flush toilets, pit latrines and chemical toilets. Thirty adult members from 30 households from each settlement were interviewed to determine their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour on geohelminth transmission. Furthermore, two hundred soil samples were collected from areas considered potential sources of infection and processed for the detection and identification of geohelminth eggs. Prevalence and intensities of geohelminth infections from school-age children were also assessed. From the total collection in the three settlements, 31.6% (95/190) were positive for geohelminth eggs with , and spp. eggs being recovered. Quarry Road West (57%; 114/200) showed the highest levels of soil contamination followed by Briardene (27%; 54/200) and Smithfield (11%; 22/200). Stool samples collected from 135 children were found to contain parasite eggs of and . Prevalences and intensities of infection were highest in Quarry Road West for both (42%, 57/135; 6.0eggs/g) and (10%, 14/135; 1.9eggs/g) and 9.6% (13/135) harboured dual infections. Open defaecation by community members was observed as the main contributing factor for the presence of geohelminth eggs in soil.
非正规住区/贫民窟的特点是缺乏足够的卫生设施和安全饮用水。受污染的土壤和水源，再加上卫生条件差和环境状况不佳，导致土壤传播的蠕虫传染给人类。本研究的目的是评估南非德班三个非正规住区的环境污染和土源性蠕虫传播的风险因素。每个住区有不同类型的卫生设施，即冲水马桶、坑式厕所和化学厕所。对每个住区30户家庭的30名成年成员进行了访谈，以确定他们对土源性蠕虫传播的知识、态度和行为。此外，从被认为是潜在感染源的地区采集了200份土壤样本，并对其进行处理以检测和鉴定土源性蠕虫虫卵。还评估了学龄儿童土源性蠕虫感染的患病率和感染强度。在三个住区采集到的样本中，31.6%（95/190）的土源性蠕虫虫卵呈阳性，发现了 、 和 等虫卵。西采石场路（57%；114/200）的土壤污染程度最高，其次是布赖尔代恩（27%；54/200）和史密斯菲尔德（11%；22/200）。从135名儿童采集的粪便样本中发现含有 和 的寄生虫卵。西采石场路的 和 感染率和感染强度最高， 感染率为42%（57/135），感染强度为6.0个虫卵/克； 感染率为10%（14/135），感染强度为1.9个虫卵/克，9.6%（13/135）的儿童有双重感染。社区成员露天排便被视为土壤中土源性蠕虫虫卵存在的主要促成因素。
