Incidence of Human Protozoan Parasitic Infections in Chattogram City, Bangladesh

Human protozoan infections constitute the largest segment of public health concern across the Indian sub-continent including Bangladesh. An MS research project investigated 6155 pathological reports of human blood/stool/urine screening tests at seven diagnostic centers and /or the Chittagong Medical College Microbiological Laboratory (CMCML). All microscopy confirmed infections were recorded every other day of the week at the selected diagnostic centers along with cross examination of selected samples, especially the thick and thin blood films for malaria-positive slides in CMCML. The accuracy and authenticity of the findings and diagnoses were verified through on-site visits during the days of data collection. The primary data spanned January, 2006 through June, 2006, and revealed a total of 307 positive cases of malaria, leishmaniasis, giardiasis, entamoebiasis, and trichomoniasis in blood, blood serum, stool, and urine samples of the patients suspected of the diseases. The total incidence, TPR accounted 4.99%. Entamoeba histolytica was prevalent in February. Giardia intestinalis was prevalent in 11–20 year old people while Trichomonas vaginalis was prevalent among females in May. Other infections were not linked demographically or temporally. Estimating infection incidence and the use of the chi-squared test for understanding their associations with various host and parasitic factors helped revealed the underlying severity of the infection burden and associated risk factors as well.

Human protozoan parasites, incidence

1. Ahmed, S. U., Nahar, N., Khan, M. R., Hoque, M. M., Afroza, A., & Baby, K. B. (1997). Clinical presentation of kala-azar in children: A study of fifty cases. Mymensingh Medical Journal, 6(1), 30–35. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Anonymous. (2003). Health and health sciences. In Banglapedia: National encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Vol. 5, pp. 54–57). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Begum, N. N., & Rahman, K. M. (1975). Comparative finding of helminths and protozoa by various techniques. Bangladesh Medical Journal, 4, 8. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Chowdhury, M. R. (1978). Intestinal parasitic infections in privileged class of Dhaka population, Bangladesh. Armed Forces Medical Journal, 4, 5–12. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Chatterjee, K. D. (1980). Parasitology (protozoology and helminthology) in relation to clinical medicine (12th ed., pp. 183–186). Kolkata: Chatterjee Medical Publishers. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Cox, F. E. G. (1982). Modern parasitology. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Huntsberger, D. V. (1961). Elements of statistical inference (p. 291). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Higgins, A. D., Jankins, J. O., Kurmia, L. W., Harun, S., & Juwono, S. S. (1984). Human intestinal parasitism in three areas of Indonesia. Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 78(6), 637–648. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. (2001). Health and science bulletin (Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 1–2). Centre for Health and Population Research. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. (2003). Health and science bulletin (Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 1–5). Centre for Health and Population Research. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. (2004). Health and science bulletin (Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 1–3). Centre for Health and Population Research. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. (2006). Health and science bulletin (Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 1–7). Centre for Health and Population Research. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Khaled, G. A. (1983). Incidence of intestinal parasitic infections in Bangladesh Rifles. Bangladesh Armed Forces Medical Journal, 7(1), 29–31. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Muttalib, A. M., & Islam, N. M. (1976). Incidence of intestinal parasites in rural children. Bangladesh Medical Journal, 4(1), 11–27. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. World Health Organization. (1996). The world health report 1996: Fighting disease, fostering development. Retrieved May 30, 2006, from http://www.who.int/whr/1996/en/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Annexure- 1 (List of the Diagnostic Laboratory/clinic/center) [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Chittagong Medical College Microbiology Laboratory, Panchlaish, Chittagong [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Chevron Clinical Laboratory (ptv) Ltd, Panchlaish, Chittagong [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Chittagong Metropolitan Diagnostic Centre, Panchlaish, Chittagong [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Chittagong Leb. Limited, Panchlaish, Chittagong [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Doctor’s Lab. Panchlaish, Chittagong [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Dr. Mahfuzur Rahman’s Lab, Chawkbazar, Chittagong [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Medi Aid Complex (pvt) Ltd., Panchlaish, Chittagong [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Meghna Diagnostic Centre, Panchlaish, Chittagong [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Isolation and Morphologic Differentiation of Blastocystis from Insect Vectors Using Staining Media
• Prevalence and Distribution of Tick-Borne Protozoan Infections in Cattle in the South Rift Region of Kenya