Omar M S, Mahfouz A A, Abdel Moneim M
Department of Clinical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
J Community Health. 1995 Oct;20(5):433-40. doi: 10.1007/BF02260439.
A study was carried out in a rural area of Asir region in Southwest of Saudi Arabia where information on the types of domestic water supply and sociodemography in relation to intestinal protozoal infections were obtained from 1417 inhabitants (81.4% of the total) of nine villages. Stool samples were collected from the study population and examined for intestinal parasites. Overall, the prevalence rates of infection with the common water-borne parasites, Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica were 18.9% and 9.2% respectively, which were high compared to other endemic areas of the Kingdom. The sociodemographic factors including age, sex, degree of education, intrafamilial clustering and crowding index were found to be non significant determinants of both protozoal infections. The source of domestic water was the sole factor significantly associated with the high prevalence rates of infection in the community. This relationship was confirmed by multiple logistic regression analysis. A significantly high risk of contracting the infection with both parasites was observed among individuals who drank jar water (OR = 2.973, 95%CI:1.515-4.402 and OR = 2.831, 95%CI:1.414-3.915, for G. lamblia and E. histolytica respectively) or well water (OR = 2.153, 95%CI:1.211-3.913 and OR = 2.117, 95%CI:1.341-3.715, for G. lamblia and E. histolytica respectively). Those who used desalinated water for drinking seems to have the lowest degree of exposure to the risk of infection (OR = 0.689, 95%CI:0.501-0.849 and OR = 0.793, 95% CI:0.518-0.912, for G. lamblia and E. histolytica respectively). The results indicate that the use of improved water supply, including protection of community wells and domestic storage tanks, together with mandatory inspection measures during transportation and distribution of commercial water should reduce the rate of infection with the two protozoal parasites in this rural community.
在沙特阿拉伯西南部阿西尔地区的一个农村地区开展了一项研究，从9个村庄的1417名居民（占总数的81.4%）中获取了有关家庭供水类型和社会人口统计学与肠道原生动物感染相关的信息。从研究人群中采集粪便样本并检测肠道寄生虫。总体而言，常见的水源性寄生虫兰氏贾第鞭毛虫和溶组织内阿米巴的感染率分别为18.9%和9.2%，与沙特王国的其他流行地区相比偏高。发现包括年龄、性别、教育程度、家庭内聚集情况和拥挤指数在内的社会人口统计学因素并非这两种原生动物感染的显著决定因素。家庭用水来源是与该社区高感染率显著相关的唯一因素。多元逻辑回归分析证实了这种关系。饮用罐装水的个体感染这两种寄生虫的风险显著较高（兰氏贾第鞭毛虫的OR = 2.973，95%CI：1.515 - 4.402；溶组织内阿米巴的OR = 2.831，95%CI：1.414 - 3.915），饮用井水的个体也是如此（兰氏贾第鞭毛虫的OR = 2.153，95%CI：1.211 - 3.913；溶组织内阿米巴的OR = 2.117，95%CI：1.341 - 3.715）。那些饮用淡化水的人似乎感染风险最低（兰氏贾第鞭毛虫的OR = 0.689，CI：0.501 - 0.849；溶组织内阿米巴的OR = 0.793，95%CI：0.518 - 0.912）。结果表明，使用改善后的供水，包括保护社区水井和家庭储水箱，以及在商业用水的运输和分配过程中采取强制性检查措施，应能降低该农村社区这两种原生动物寄生虫的感染率。
