A Survey of Intestinal Protozoan Infections among Gastroenteritis Patients during a 3-Year Period (2004-2006) in Gyeonggi-do (Province), South Korea

Abstract

The incidence and etiology of parasite-associated gastroenteritis during 2004-2006 in Gyeonggi-do (province), South Korea was determined by means of antigen detection ELISA on 6,071 stool specimens collected from 6 general hospitals. At least 1 parasitic agent was detected in 3.4% (208/6,071) of the stool samples. Among these, Giardia lamblia was the most numerous (152 cases; 2.5%), followed by Entamoeba histolytica (25 cases; 0.4%), Cryptosporidium parvum (23 cases; 0.4%), and mixed infections (8 cases; 0.1%). Patients aged 1-5 years had the largest proportion (69.2%; 144/208) of parasite-positive stool specimens. Parasite-mediated gastroenteritis was most common from June to September. The detection rate gradually increased from 2004 to 2006. This study shows that parasite-mediated gastroenteritis may be significant among children in Korea and that parasite infection surveillance should be constantly performed.

Enteric Protozoa in the Developed World: a Public Health Perspective

“…However, enteric parasites-mainly protozoa-are isolated from 1% to 65% of patients with diarrhea in various settings. The relative prevalences of enteric protozoa reported in several developed countries in outbreak and nonoutbreak settings among humans are reported in Table 1 (1, 11,12,24,60,85,90,96,128,144,184,192,193,204,215,225,247,248,255,264,265,301,335,355,370,395,416,417,425,442,444,452,467). Giardia intestinalis (0.2% to 29.2% of cases), Cryptosporidium spp.…”

Increase in the detection rate of viral and parasitic enteric pathogens among Egyptian children with acute diarrhea

“…Cryptosporidium parvum are the major parasitic organisms causing childhood diarrhea in developing countries [16][17][18]. Although these parasites do not usually cause life-threatening disease, they are still important infectious agents, especially in infants.…”

Etiological Agents of Pediatric Diarrhea in Ardebil, Northwestern Iran

“…In recent years, numerous bacterial, viral, and parasitic agents are considered the main cause of gastroenteritis. Viral agents are the cause of the high rates of gastroenteritis, followed by bacterial and parasitic agents (1,5). The human rotavirus is the most common etiologic agent of pediatric infections, which annually causes 125 million cases of diarrhea and more than 600 000 childhood deaths worldwide (6,7).…”

“…Protozoan diarrhea is also distributed around the globe. Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, and Cryptosporidium parvum are the mostly reported protozoan pathogens that cause gastroenteritis (4,5). Studies showed that approximately 100,000 deaths followed by gastroenteritis are related to protozoan species (12).…”