STUDIES ON INTESTINAL HELMINTHIASIS IN THE SOUTH OF IRAN

The prevalence of various intestinal helminthiasis have been determined by the examination of 8109 inhabitants of 20 villages located in the mountainous and coastal regions of the Bandar Abbas and Minab areas in southern Iran. A portion of people infected with each parasite were treated with the appropriate drug I and the worms expelled were collected, identified and counted. The results indicate that the prevalence of most helminthiasis is rather low in all areas expect for hookworm, which was as high as 65 % in the coastal area of Minab, Trichostrongylus spp. Which had a prevalence of 88.2% and 41% in the coastal and mountainous areas of Minab, and H. nana which had prevalence higher than 20% in most villages? The mass-treatment of cases indicated that 89% of the inhabitants are infected with E. vermicularis. Ninety-seven percent of the hookworms found were Ancylostoma doudenale with a mean worm burden of 20.2, the species of Trichostrongylus found were T. Problurus, T. colubriformis, T. vitrinus and T. axei. About 6% of the infected cases in the Bandar Abbas and 30% in the Minab areas had mixed infection (with two or more parasites). The prevalence of the infections found in these two areas is compared with results obtained from surveys in other parts of the country.