Encuesta de salud de refugiados guatemaltecos en la frontera sur de Mexico / Health surveys of Guatemalan refugees along the Southern border of Mexico

ABSTRACT

In november 1983 a study was done of living conditions and the frequency of communicable diseases and malnutrition in eight camps for Guatemalan refugees and three rural Mexican communities along the southern border of Mexico. The purpose of the study was to determine what changes the influx of refugees might have brought about in the epidemiological profile of the Mexican population in that border zone. A study group of 158 Guatemalan refugee families (955 individuals) and 125 rural Mexican families (718 individuals) was selected by random sampling. A questionnaire was used to record the composition of the family and the characteristics of the dwellings, and the presence of infectious diseases was investigated by interviews, thorough physical examinations, recording of weights and heights, and examination of blood and feces for the presence of Plasmodium and intestinal parasites. In both population groups, living conditions were poor most of the dwellings lacked running water and were overcrowed. The prevalence of infectious diseases, especially those transmitted by direct contact,was found to be high; 2.3 per cent of all blood smears tested positive for Plasmodium, and the vaccination coverage of children under 5 was very low. Intestinal parasitosis was found in more than 80 per cent of the individuals, and about 75 per cent of them suffered from some degree of malnutrition