Helminthic infestations in the Tyrol, Austria

At the federal public health laboratory Innsbruck, 142426 samples were exam ined for intestinal helminthosis from 1990 until 2000. Enterobius vermicula ris accounted for half (49.7%) of the cases diagnosed, followed by Taenia s aginata (28.3%), Ascaris lumbricoides (12.8%), and Trichuris trichiura (3.9 %). Of all specimens tested for helminths, 26% hadbeen positive in 1945, an d 0.98% in 1985, The proportion of positive findings with respect to the to tal number of specimens tested was 0.24% in the time span 1990-2000. It app ears to us that these numbers fairly reflect the real prevalence of helmint hosis in Austria.