GEOHELMINTH INFECTIONS IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN IN JAMAICA

There is concern that geohelminthiasis may adversely affect the growth and development of children. The relevance of this in the Caribbean i s unclear since in many territories the prevalence of geohelminths is unknown. We report the results of three surveys conducted in Jamaican primary schools located in areas at high risk for geohelminthiasis. Th e first was conducted in 12 Kingston schools and comprised children in grades 2 to 5 (aged 7 to 10 years). The second and third surveys were conducted in rural areas with children in grades 2 to 5 and grades 4 and 5, respectively. Overall, 9244 children provided stool samples for analysis. The prevalence of Trichuris trichiura ranged from 42% to 47 % among the surveys while that for Ascaris lumbricoides ranged from 15 % to 37%. Children in grades 2 and 3 had lower T. trichiura prevalence s than those in grades 4 and 5 in the first and second surveys (p < 0. 05 and p < 0.005, respectively). In the second survey only, children i n grades 2 and 3 had a lower prevalence of A. lumbricoides than those in grades 4 and 5 (p < 0.005). Most infections were light with approxi mately 1% of the sample having heavy egg densities.