Investigation on subclinical aspects related to intestinal parasitic infections among Thai laborers in Taipei

Background:The migration of foreign workers from developing regions to deve loped countries may potentially lead to transmission of intestinal parasiti c infections. In order to determine the relationship between intestinal par asitic infections and the health status of foreign workers, 302 Thai labore rs brought to Taiwan were examined in this study. Nine species of parasites were found in 64.9% of laborers; Opisthorchis viverrini, hookworm, Strongy loides stercoralis, Giardia lamblia, Trichuris trichiura, Fasciolopsis busk i, Taenia sp, Echinostoma sp, Entamoeba coli. Methods: From June 1992 to De cember 1993, a total of 302 Thai laborers, participating in the mandatory e ntry health examination at Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Lin-Kou Medical Ce nter were interviewed and examined. These subjects underwent a physical exa mination, chest roentgenography, and serological tests for human immunodefi ciency virus antibody, syphilis (VDRL), and hepatitis B surface antigen. Re sults: Among the 302 Thai laborers examined, 196 (64.9%) were found to be i nfected with 1 to 5 species of parasites. All 193 infected Thai laborers we re treated in Taiwan. Two or 3 courses of pyrantel pamoate, mebendazole, pr aziquantel, and metronidazole were administered to 119, 45, 24, and 5 infec ted patients respectively. After 1 week of treatment, all results of stool examinations were negative. Conclusion:Acquisition of infection has been de termined to be related to the consumption of koipla, a dish prepared from u ncooked freshwater fish. Not unexpectedly, in the present study, it was fou nd that this species was the most important intestinal parasite among Thai laborers and was significantly associated with the consumption of koipla.