Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

A total of 120 Penan children (from two months to ten years of age) in the Lio Matu area of the Upper Baram district in Sarawak was examined for intestinal parasitic infections. Stool samples were collected in plastic stool packets and examined with the ether formalin concentration method. Those positive for hookworm were cultured with the Petri dish method for identification. Exactly one-third of the children were infected with the soil-transmitted helminths-Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Necator americanus. Single helminthic infections were more common than mixed infections among these children. Only 2.5% of them had intestinal protozoa. The factors for the relatively low prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and the role of intestinal parasitism in the aetiology of malnutrition among these Penan children were discussed.

Keywords

Environmental sanitation Malnutrition Penan Prevalence Protozoa Soil-transmitted helminthiases

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

1. Anderson AJU: Subsistence of the Penan in the Mulu Area of Sarawak, 1978. Report of Sarawak Medical Service, 1978.

2. Chen PCY : Child nutrition among the Penans of the Upper Baram, Sarawak. Med J Malaysia 1984; 39: 264–68.

3. Stephenson LS : The contribution of Ascaris lumbricoides to malnutrition in children. Parasitology 1980; 81: 221–33.

4. Kan SP : Ascariasis among children in Malaysia. Trop Biomed 1986; 3: 73–78.

5. Kan SP : Soil-transmitted helminthiasis among Indian primary school children in Selangor, Malaysia. Med J Malaysia 1984; 39: 143–47.

6. Chia WP et al: The problem of soil-transmitted helminths in squatter areas around Kuala Lumpur. Med J Malaysia 1978; 32: 48–55.

Intestinal Parasitism Among Penan Children of the Upper Baram,Sarawak

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References