An epidemiological survey of <i>Cryptosporidium</i> parvum infection in randomly selected inhabitants of Seoul and Chollanam-do

, Chai, J Y; , Lee, S H; , Guk, S M; , Lee, S H

doi:1996.34.2.113

Korean J Parasito > Volume 34(2):1996 > Article

Original Article


Korean J Parasitol. 1996 Jun;34(2):113-119. English. Published online Jun 20, 1996. http://dx.doi.org/10.3347/kjp.1996.34.2.113
Copyright © 1996 by The Korean Society for Parasitology


An epidemiological survey of Cryptosporidium parvum infection in randomly selected inhabitants of Seoul and Chollanam-do
J Y Chai,^*S H Lee,S M Guk and S H Lee
Department of Parasitology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-799, Korea.

Received May 07, 1996; Accepted May 27, 1996.
Abstract
An epidemiological survey was performed to know the status of Cryptosporidium sp. infection among the people in Seoul and Chollanam- do in 1992. One village of Chollanam-do (Hwasun-gun) which showed the highest oocyst positive rate was re-surveyed in 1995 for human infection and for cattle also. The subjected areas consisted of 8 urban villages (= dongs) of Seoul and 4 urban ( = dongs) and 7 rural ( = myons) villages of Chollanam-do. A total of 3,146 fecal samples was collected randomly, and smears were made from formalin-ether sediments. They were examined for Cryptosporidium oocysts by modified acid fast staining. The overall oocyst positive rate was 7.9% (248/3,146), but the rate was remarkably different between Seoul and Chollanam-do, 0.5% (4/853) and 10.6% (244/2,293), respectively. The average size of oocysts was 4.8 ± 0.5 by 4.2 ± 0.5 µm, compatible with C. parvum. In Chollanam-do, rural villages showed significantly higher rate (14.0%) than urban villages (3.7%). Especially the people in Iyang- myon. Hwasun-gun, a typical rural village, revealed a very high rate of 40.0% (74/185). Adults aged 51-70 years revealed the highest positive rate among all age groups. At the re-survey of the same village of Hwasun-gun in 1995, 44 (35.2%) of 125 villagers and 14 (93.3%) of 15 cattle examined were positive for C. parvum oocysts. The results suggest that C. parvum is highly prevalent in rural areas of Chollanam- do, and an important source or mode of infection seems to be contaminated water or contact with the feces of infected cattle.

Figures


	Fig. 1 Age-prevalence of C. parvum infection among the surveyed population in Seoul and Chollanam-do. 1992.

Tables


	Table 1 Overall C. parvum oocyst positive rate of the surveyed population


	Table 2 C. parvum oocyst positive rate by surveyed areas of Seoul


	Table 3 C. parvum oocyst positive rate by urban and rural villages of Chollanam-do


	Table 4 Positive rate of C. parvum oocysts according to sex of the people surveyed


	Table 5 Second survey results on the prevalence of C. parvum by age of the people in Hwssun-gun layang-myon (April, 1995)

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