Status of Intestinal Helminthes Infection in Primary School Children in Iksan, Korea

초등학교 어린이들의 장내 기생 윤충류 감염 실태 조사

Intestinal parasitic infections remain a serious public health problem globally and have usually been associated with human malnutrition. This study was performed to observe the present status of intestinal helminthes infections among the primary school children in Iksan, Korea, during the period from June to August, 2006. A total of 974 fecal samples (male 479, female 495) were collected and examined by formalin-ether sedimentation technique for intestinal helminthes eggs. Of the 974 samples examined, 2 (0.2%) were egg positive for intestinal helminthes, and only eggs of Clonorchis sinensis were observed in the 2 cases. These C. sinensis egg were found in grade 5 (male, 1 case) and grade 6 (female, 1 case), respectively. The egg positive rate of male and female were 0.2%, respectively. Through this survey, I found that the C. sinensis infection is prevalent among primary school children in Iksan, Jeonbuk, and a continuous health education for school children is recommended to prevent the potential infection of C. sinensis.