Prevalence of intestinal parasites in latino residents of Chicago

Gwynne Roeseler Winsberg, Elizabeth Sonnenschein, Alan R. Dyer, Vicki Schnadig, Esperanza Bonilla

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Winsberg, G. R. (Dept. of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Northwestern U. Medical School. Chicago, IL 60611), E. Sonnenschein, A. R. Dyer, V. Schnadig and E. Bonilla. Prevalence of intestinal parasites in Latino residents of Chicago.Am J Epidemiol 102:526-532, 1975.In 1970, 250,000 Spanish-speaking persons resided in Chicago, 80,000 of whom were Puerto Rican. Because migration to Chicago is constantly occurring from areas where intestinal parasites are endemic, a survey was conducted in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood to determine the prevalence of these parasites and to provide impetus for further case finding and treatment programs. The survey was part of an epidemiologic and clinical study of schistosomiasis. Teams of medical students and outreach workers going door-to-doorobtained histories, hematocrits, and single stool specimens from 358 individuals. An overall intestinal parasite prevalence rate of 18.6% (67 persons) was found. Specific rates were Trichuris trichiura 13.9% (50 cases), hookworm 6.6% (24 cases), Giardia lamblia 3.9% (14 cases), and Strongyloides stercoralis 1.7% (6 cases). There were no cases of Ascaris lumbricoides or Entamoeba histolytica, although several nonpathogenic protozoa were found. The most affected age groups were 15-24 years followed by 5-14. Two of the Giardia cases were individuals never out of the continental United States. An incidental finding was a high rate of low hematocrit readings not correlated with the parasite findings.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)526-532
Number of pages7
JournalAmerican journal of epidemiology
Volume102
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1975
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Giardiasis
  • Health surveys
  • Intestinal diseases
  • Parasitic diseases
  • Trichuriasis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Prevalence of intestinal parasites in latino residents of Chicago'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this