Parasitic Infection Among Foreign Workers: Serological Findings

Abstract

We describe the results of serology for parasitic infection of 698 foreign workers. The 698 foreign workers participated included 115 Indonesians, 387 Bangladeshis, 101 Burmese, 81 Pakistanis, 6 Indians, 3 Thais, 3 Filipinoes and 2 others. Blood samples were taken from these workers and eight tests (Amoebiasis, Echinococcosis, Filariasis (bm and wb), Leishmaniasis, Malaria, Schistosomiasis and Trypanosomiasis) were performed on serum separated from the blood. Among the 698 sera tested, 38.1% were found to be positive for at least one parasitic infection. The most common antibody detected in the positive sera was antibody for amoebiasis (28.1%), followed by malaria (26.9%), echinococcosis (18.1%) and schistosomiasis (11.6%). Other tests showed a low percentage of infection with leshmaniasis (6.5%), filariasis (Brugia malayi (3%) and Wuchereria bancrofti (1%)) and trypanosomiasis (1%).