Abstract
A parasitological examination was conducted on fecal samples collected from 1, 547 inhabitants residing in 10 rural and two urban localities including a slum in the Dominican Republic. Seven helminth and seven protozoan species were observed. In the helminthic infections, Trichuris trichiura was commonest with overall prevalence of 48.4%, being followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (prevalence 25.5%) and hookworms (12.9%), while the prevalence of other helminthic infections was quite low, less than 3% for every species. All of the filariform larvae of hookworms were identified as Necator americanus. The prevalence of major geohelminth infections markedly differed by locality presumably due to the climatic and socioeconomical differences. The prevalence of A. lumbricoides infection showed a peak in the groups of 5-9 or 10-14 years of age in the highly endemic localities, while that of T. trichiura and hookworm formed a plateau through the age groups of 5-9, 10-14 and 15-24 years. Entamoeba coli was the most prevalent protozoan being detected in 21.1% of the samples, followed by Giardia intestinalis (5.4%). The prevalence of protozoan infections was relatively stable among localities, suggesting that contaminated drinking water or foods were the sources of infection.
