Intestinal parasites in Southeast Asian refugee children.

To determine the predictability of pediatric stool-parasite patterns among various Southeast Asian ethnic groups, I collected data from medical and microbiology laboratory records on all Southeast Asian refugee children who had a stool specimen examined for ova and parasites over a 21-month period. For most of the children, the specimen was examined as part of routine "health screening." The patterns of infection by ethnic group for those Vietnamese and Laotian children living in Seattle differ from the patterns seen in other geographic areas.