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- Title
Amoebiasis amongst the Orang Asli (aborigine) School Children at Sungai Raba Village, Gerik, Perak, Malaysia.
- Authors
AG, Mohamed Kamel; Jeyaprakasam, Nantha Kumar
- Abstract
Introduction: Amoebiasis is the infection by Entamoeba histolytica which is widespread worldwide and higher prevalence is usually seen among the indigenous under priviledged people living in the tropics and subtropics. Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of amoebiasis among the Orang Asli (aboriginal) school children at Sungai Raba Village, Gerik, in the state of Perak, Malaysia. Materials & methods: Cross-sectional study was carried out among 139 volunteered Orang Asli school children aged between 6 to 13 years old comprising 66 boys and 73 girls. The stool specimens were collected and screened for the parasite by the direct fecal smear method followed by formalin ether concentration technique. Results: The overall prevalence of amoebiasis in this population was 14.4% (20/139). Males had a slightly higher prevalence rate of 15.1% (10/66) compared to females at 13.7% (10/73). The highest infection rate at 21.3% was observed in school children aged between 10 --- 11 years. Generally, the formalin ether concentration technique had shown a higher percentage of detection (90%) compared to direct fecal smear (50%). Conclusion: Amoebiasis among the aboriginal school children at Sungai Raba Village, Gerik, still indicates a relatively low health standard of this indigenous community. Promoting awareness of good personal hygiene is definitely one of the measures to control this infection.
- Subjects
MALAYSIA; FECAL analysis; ORANG Asal (Malaysian people); RURAL conditions; CROSS-sectional method; HYGIENE; SEX distribution; AMEBIASIS; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; SCHOOL children
- Publication
International Medical Journal, 2021, Vol 28, Issue 5, p575
- ISSN
1341-2051
- Publication type
Article