Intestinal parasitic infestation in urban and rural Xhosa children. A comparative study.

Evidence of helminthic intestinal parasites was found in 97,0% of stools of 544 Xhosa schoolchildren living in Cape Town. The commonest parasite was Trichuris trichiura, which infested 89,9% of the children. In contrast, only 9,8% of 387 Xhosa children living in the Tsolo district, Transkei, had evidence of intestinal parasites in their stools, Hymenolepis nana being the commonest. In spite of the unsatisfactory sanitary conditions in the Tsolo area compared with those in Guguletu, Cape Town, where all sewage is waterborne, few rural children were infested. The high prevalence of infestation in the Guguletu children suggests extensive contamination of the soil in the area by parasitic ova. In view of the magnitude of the extent of parasitic infestation in the Guguletu children, a vigorous and sustained programme of medication and education will have to be undertaken if the problem is to be resolved.