A. Allemann et al., PREVALENCE OF HOOKWORM INFECTION, ANEMIA AND FECAL BLOOD-LOSS AMONG THE YUPNO PEOPLE OF PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA, Papua New Guinea medical journal, 37(1), 1994, pp. 15-22
The present report describes a study of hookworm infection, anaemia an
d the presence of blood in stool among the inhabitants of the Yupno ar
ea in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. The study group comprised 588
persons of all age groups. A second group of 45 patients attending th
e Madang General Hospital, in the provincial capital on the coast, was
used for comparison. In the Yupno area, 59% of the subjects were infe
cted with hookworm; in the coastal group the infection rate was 82%, w
hich was significantly higher. There is therefore a moderate prevalenc
e of hookworm infection in the Yupno area, which does not impair the h
ealth of the population to any great extent. In both places there was
a clear increase in the infection rate between the group of children 1
-5 years old and the older groups. The mean blood haemoglobin level wa
s 15.1g/dl among the Yupno, which was significantly higher than that o
f the second group (10.7g/dl). There was a significant negative linear
correlation between the intensity of hookworm infection and blood hae
moglobin level. The Colo-Rectal-Test for blood in stool was used on sa
mples from 145 persons in the Yupno and from 43 in the coastal group.
The test gave positive results in 17% of the cases without worm infect
ion. In infected persons, the Colo-Rectal-Test gave an increasing rate
of positive results as the parasite burden increased: 24% for subject
s with low levels of infection, and 57% and 67% for moderate and high
levels, respectively. The Cole-Rectal-Test is therefore a simple metho
d for the detection of faecal blood loss in populations with a high pr
evalence of hookworm infection. However, it is not useful as an instru
ment for general screening for hook-worm infections.