Endemic Cryptosporidium and Giardia lamblia infections in a Thai orphanage.

Abstract


We conducted a point prevalence survey for enteric protozoa in 205 institutionalized orphans 1-61 months of age in Bangkok, Thailand. Cryptosporidium was identified in 17 children (8%), Giardia lamblia in 42 (20%), and 3 children (1%) had both parasites. At the time of diagnosis, diarrheal symptoms were present in a minority of subjects: 36% of children with Cryptosporidium alone, 10% with G. lamblia alone, and in 20% of those with neither parasite. Although chronic nutritional status (height/age) was similar in all groups, acute nutritional status (weight/height) was lower only in children with Cryptosporidium (Z score = -1.39 +/- 0.13) compared with children with G. lamblia (mean Z score +/- SEM = -0.56 +/- 0.26) or neither parasite (Z score = -0.78 +/- 0.13; P = 0.05). Detectable levels of Cryptosporidium-specific IgG antibodies by ELISA were identified in 15 of 16 Thai children with Cryptosporidium and in 17 of 19 Thai children without Cryptosporidium (mean OD +/- SEM = 1.27 +/- 0.18 vs. 1.06 +/- 0.13, respectively), but in only 1 of 18 sera from toddlers in day-care centers in Denver, CO (OD = 0.128 +/- 0.03). Although neither infection with Cryptosporidium nor G. lamblia was consistently associated with acute diarrheal symptoms, Cryptosporidium was more often associated with depressed acute nutritional status than G. lamblia. The high prevalence of specific antibodies to Cryptosporidium in Thai orphans suggests an association between high rates of exposure with asymptomatic excretion of the parasites.



Janoff EN Mead PS Mead JR Echeverria P Bodhidatta L Bhaibulaya M Sterling CR Taylor DN | source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 186 |
Categories: Health


Other articles

Nutritional status and dietary intake of the orphans: A case study in the ICH (Intervida Children Home) in Dhaka city in Bangladesh

The study was conducted among Intervida beneficiaries (Students) on October 2010. Total number of students was 46. The purpose…

Read more

Orphans in Syria and Iraq Juggling Balls: Wars, COVID-19, and the NGO’s financial crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact varies between and within nations, causing new forms of inequality. Refugee and orphan children…

Read more

The Aid ‘Darlings’ and ‘Orphans’ of the Great Lakes Region in Africa

This paper looks at the developmental consequences of aid flows on the Great Lakes region in Africa. Our main hypothesis…

Read more

Psychosocial wellbeing of orphaned children in selected primary schools in Tanzania

Psychosocial wellbeing is among the important components of the general wellbeing of an individual and crucial for children's…

Read more