PREVALENCE OF INTESTINAL PROTOZOAN INFECTIONS AMONG ORANG ASLI SCHOOLCHILDREN IN POS SENDERUT, PAHANG, MALAYSIA | ||
Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology | ||
Article 1, Volume 43, Issue 3, December 2013, Pages 561-568 PDF (228.17 K) | ||
Document Type: Original Article | ||
DOI: 10.21608/jesp.2013.93278 | ||
Authors | ||
TALAL AL-HARAZI1; MOHAMED KAMEL ABD GHANI2; HIDAYATULFATHI OTHMAN2 | ||
1Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine Taiz University, Yemen. | ||
2Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Allied and Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. | ||
Abstract | ||
The current study determined the prevalence of intestinal protozoan infections among the Orang Asli schoolchildren in Pos Senderut, Pahang, Malaysia. The overall intestinal protozoan infection rate was 85% (261 out of 307). The highest prevalence rates were due to Entamoeba coli (24.4%), Giardia lamblia (21.8%), Blastocystis hominis (21.2%) and Entamoeba histolytica (15.0%). The prevalence of Iodamoeba butschlii was only 2.9%. Among the positive samples, mixed infection with B. hominis and E. histolytica was 3.3%, B. hominis and G. lamblia was 2.9%, G. lamblia and E. histolytica was 2.0% and triple infections (B. hominis, G. lamblia and E. histolytica) was 1.0 %. The prevalence of the infection was high in all age groups (6-14 years old). Thus, we can conclude that intestinal protozoan infections are still representing a serious public health problem in aboriginal communities, especially among children. | ||
Keywords | ||
Protozoan infections; school children; Orang Asli; Malaysia | ||
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