Head Lice Infestation in Pre-High School Girls, Lak Hok Suburban Area, Pathum Thani Province, in Central Thailand.

This is a cross-sectional descriptive survey to determine the prevalence of lice infestation in a pre-high school, Lak Hok subdistrict, Pathum Thani Province, in central part of Thailand. The knowledge, attitudes, and practices of parents/guardians toward head lice in female children during February-April 2020 were evaluated. A total of 83 out of 111 parents (74.8%) agreed to complete consent forms and questionnaires. The prevalence of pediculosis found in this study was 68.7%. The infestation was found in the primary school level (87.5%), which was significantly higher than pre-primary school (29.6%; p < 0.05). Itching scalp was revealed in 93.0% of pediculosis. The results showed that occupation, religion, education, and income showed no significant difference between lice infested and non-infested students (p > 0.05). There was no significant association between sex, occupation, religion, education, income, status of parents, and family size among lice infested and non-infested students (p > 0.05). The parents/guardians showed the middle level of knowledge concerning with pediculosis capitis (66.8%). The lack of knowledge leading, first, to the belief that pediculosis does not need any treatment (89.2%), followed by boys getting head lice more frequently than girls (85.5%), and the belief that sharing infested combs, brushes, or hair ribbons does not result in lice transmission (79.9%). More than 75% of the parents/guardians had experienced infestation of head lice and showed themselves willing and able to diagnose and treat their family. However, 50.6% of them did not feel shame when their children were infested with head lice. Children washing their hair by themselves were found to be a significant factor in infestation (88.5%). High rate of pediculosis in this suburban school needs more intensive care by parents/guardians and teachers. Furthermore, improvement strategies to prevent and control lice in the school need to be more specifically planned and scheduled by teachers and health administrators.

Modified Nonnutrient Agar Plate Culture for the Diagnosis of Strongyloides stercoralis and Hookworm Infections in La-Ngu District, Satun Province, Southern Thailand.

Due to the low prevalence and light intensity of Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis, Ss) and hookworm (HW) in Thailand, an increase in the efficacy of detection with the appropriate diagnosis is needed. This cross-sectional survey is aimed at using modified nonnutrient agar plate culture (mNNAPC) to assess the prevalence of S. stercoralis and hookworm infections and to report intestinal parasitic infections in La-Ngu villagers, Satun Province in Southern Thailand. We used wet smear, modified Harada-Mori filter paper culture (mHMFPC), and mNNAPC to investigate 204 villagers (4 villages) between August 2016 and January 2017. The combination of mHMFPC and mNNAPC raised the prevalence of S. stercoralis and hookworm infections among the study population from 3.4% and 1.0% to 6.9% and 2.5%, respectively. There were no significant differences between demographic characteristics and these infections (p < 0.05). Three types of protozoal infections, Blastocystis spp. (2.9%), Entamoeba histolytica-like (0.5%), and Giardia duodenalis (0.5%), and 3 species of helminthic infections, S. stercoralis (6.9%) (14 cases), hookworm 2.5%, and Enterobius vermicularis 0.5%, were demonstrated in this area. The mNNAPC showed the highest efficacy in detecting both parasites (Ss 92.9% and HW 80%), whereas the wet smear detected none.

Urinary balantidiasis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Balantidium coli, a parasitic unicellular ciliate, often causes asymptomatic balantidiasis of the colon, but extraintestinal disease may occur rarely in immunosuppressed individuals. Renal balantidiasis associated with systemic lupus erythematosus has not been reported before. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 48-year-old Thai woman who presented with nephrotic syndrome due to systemic lupus erythematosus-related nephritis. Initially, few B. coli cysts were found in urine sediment, but these increased substantially following treatment with prednisolone. She made an uneventful recovery with 10 days of oral tetracycline therapy. No B. coli cysts were found in her stool. CONCLUSION: The route of infection in our patient was unclear but is likely to have been orofecal. Neither her infection nor its treatment caused a deterioration in her renal function.

Modified Harada-Mori and simple wet mount to determine hookworm infections in Yo Island urban area, Songkhla, Southern Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Hookworm was a previously dominant parasitic infection in Southern Thailand. The changing population to an aging society in Yo Island has never been investigated for intestinal parasites. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of hookworm and intestinal parasitic infections on Yo Island, a small island in Songkhla Province of southern Thailand. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among volunteers aged 15 and above to give one stool sample that was screened by wet mount for intestinal parasites and the modified Harada-Mori culture (mHMFPC) which is adapted from HMFPC, using local plastic bag containers instead of test tubes for hookworm detection. RESULTS: Two hundred forty-seven volunteers (females = 160) gave one stool. The highest participation was in age group higher than 60 years. Most were Buddhism (89.1%), agriculturist (71.4%), non-education (87.9%), and income lower than 9000 baht (50.2%). The prevalence of intestinal parasites was 13/247 (5.3%) of which 6/247 (2.4%) were positive for hookworm species Necator americanus. One volunteer was coinfected with hookworm and Strongyloides stercoralis and another with Endolimax nana and Blastocystis hominis. The mHMFPC detected more positive stool samples than wet mount and wet mount: 5 vs. 2. CONCLUSIONS: Parasite prevalence was low in this urban community of mostly low-income village dwellers. The mHMFPC appeared better at detecting hookworm but numbers were small. Combined techniques are suitable for field use.

A preliminary epidemiological study of pinworm infection in Thaklong Municipal Early Childhood Development Center and Rangsit Babies' Home, Pathum Thani, Thailand.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the prevalence and risk factors for Enterobius vermicularis in children at the Thaklong Municipal Early Childhood Development Center (TMECDC), and the Rangsit Babies' Home (RBH) in Pathum Thani, Thailand using the Scotch tape method. RESULTS: 397 children aged 3-6 years were sampled (male = 198); 31 (7.8%) were E. vermicularis positive: 1 (TMECDC) and 30 (RBH). 264/397 (66.50%) of parents had incomes > 12,000 baht/month and 313/397 (78.84%) were educated from primary school to college. Univariate analysis identified (i) age 5-6 years, (ii) female sex, (iii) lower education of mother/father, (iv) being a house wife, (v) being a low income family, (vi) being resident in the orphanage, (vii) reporting anorexia and/or fever, and (viii) not washing their bottoms as factors for a positive slide. By logistic regression, education level and age group were independently associated with a positive Scotch tape result. Older children and higher family education had opposing associations with E. vermicularis. Strategies to control pinworm infection should focus on high-risk children in orphanages.

Intestinal parasitic infections in suburban government schools, Lak Hok subdistrict, Muang Pathum Thani, Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: To provide baseline information of parasitic infections in 3 suburban government schools, Lakhok subdistrict of Muang Pathum Thani, Thailand. METHODS: This study was conducted between May-June 2010 using simple direct smear and modified formalin ether and from a population of 1 253 in 3 suburban government schools. RESULTS: Total samples of 202 registered and participated. The average of prevalence of infection from 3 schools was 13.9%, there were 13.7%, 14.3% and 13.9% in N, S and R school, respectively with no significant difference between schools (P>0.05). The infection rates did not show significant difference between genders (P>0.05). The highest rate of infection was 20.4% in Pathom 2 (8 years) students and the lowest was 4% in Pathom 1 (7 years) with statistically difference between age groups (P<0.05). The highest prevalence of pathogenic protozoa was Giardia lamblia (G. lamblia) which was found in 50% of infected cases, followed by 25% of Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) and Blastocystis hominis (B. hominis). The highest prevalence of non-pathogenic protozoa was Endolimax nana (E. nana) which was found in 88.9%, followed by 11.1% of Entamoeba coli (E. coli). Mixed infections between Blastocystis hominis (B. hominis) and Endolimax nana (E. nana) were reported at 7.1%. The only helminthic infection found in this study area was hookworm, found in 1 student (3.8%). The formalin ether concentration technique showed a higher efficacy of detection (78%-100%) than the simple direct smear method (0%-50%). CONCLUSIONS: Surveillance of Protozoan infections may need to be focused on suburban areas.

Prevalence and risk factors for pinworm infection in the kindergarten of Thammasat University, Thailand.

We studied the prevalence and risk factors for pinworm infection in children attending the kindergarten of Thammasat University, Pathum Thani, Thailand, using the Scotch-tape technique. Slides were examined by a standard light microscope; 20% of negative slides were reexamined for quality control. Symptoms and risk factor data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Three hundred thirty children age 3 to 6 years old were sampled (males=159). Sixty-five (19.7%) had symptoms consistent with pinworm infection. No pinworm eggs were detected. Most parents (73%) had a good socioeconomic status and 64% were university graduates. Pinworm infection may be uncommon in urban Thailand.

A survey on malaria in mobile Cambodians in Aranyaprathet, Sa Kaeo Province, Thailand.

A cross-sectional survey of the malaria prevalence among mobile Cambodians in Aranyaprathet, at the Thai-Cambodia border, was conducted in November 2000. A total of 666 asymptomatic, mobile Cambodians who worked as traders and laborers were studied. The overall prevalence rate was 2.4%, with 93.75% of the infections being due to Plasmodium vivax and 6.25% due to Plasmodium falciparum. Almost all cases had low level of parasitemia (1+) and no sexual stages were found. Factors associated with malaria infection included being male, being in the 10-59 year age group, having a lower level of education and frequent trans-border crossing. Both groups of migrant workers (traders and laborers) had an equal chance of infection.