Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 18, Issue 1, 2016, Pages 21-27

Health Status of Immigrant Children and Environmental Survey of Child Daycare Centers in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand (Article)

Sagnuankiat S. , Wanichsuwan M. , Bhunnachet E. , Jungarat N. , Panraksa K. , Komalamisra C. , Maipanich W. , Yoonuan T. , Pubampen S. , Adisakwattana P. , Watthanakulpanich D.*
  • a Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • b Samut Sakhon General Hospital, Samut Sakhon, Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand
  • c Samut Sakhon General Hospital, Samut Sakhon, Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand
  • d Samut Sakhon General Hospital, Samut Sakhon, Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand
  • e Samut Sakhon General Hospital, Samut Sakhon, Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand
  • f Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • g Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • h Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • i Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • j Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • k Department of Helminthology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

Samut Sakhon is a Thai province popular among immigrants attracted to work in factories and the Thai food industry, especially people from Myanmar. Poor personal-hygiene behaviors, crowded accommodation and limited sanitation, result in health problems among immigrant workers. Various infectious diseases among this group are seen and managed by Samut Sakhon General Hospital. The impact of intestinal parasitic infections on public health is well known; they can spread from infected immigrant areas to uninfected areas via close contact and fecal-oral transmission from contaminated food and water. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among 372 immigrant children at 8 child-daycare centers during their parents’ work time, by physical examination, fecal examination, and examination of the environment around the centers. Physical examinations were generally unremarkable, except that head-lice and fingernail examinations were positive in two cases (0.8 %). The results showed intestinal parasitic infections to be highly prevalent, at 71.0 %. These infections comprised both helminths and protozoa: Trichuris trichiura (50.8 %), Enterobius vermicularis (25.2 %), Ascaris lumbricoides (15.3 %), hookworm (11.6 %), Giardia lamblia (10.2 %), Endolimax nana (3.5 %), Entamoeba coli (2.7 %), and Blastocystis hominis (0.5 %). The environmental survey found a small number of houseflies near the accommodation to be positive for helminthic eggs (0.2 %), including A. lumbricoides, E. vermicularis, hookworms, Taenia spp., and minute intestinal flukes. Regarding the high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among children, it has been conjectured whether they were infected, along with their parents, during their daily lives before or after settling in Thailand. Intestinal parasites among immigrant children may involve a significant epidemiological impact, since immigrant children can serve as carriers and transmitters of disease. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

Thailand Intestinal parasitic infections Carriers Immigrant children

Index Keywords

Child Day Care Centers parasitology Thailand human epidemiology statistics and numerical data health status ethnology day care Humans migrant Adolescent male Emigrants and Immigrants preschool child female Infant Child, Preschool Feces intestine infection Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic Physical Examination Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84954397577&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-014-0146-0&partnerID=40&md5=65f6089c3f14639081cd94a1835710bf
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-014-0146-0
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 6
Original Language: English