Parasitic screening of a refugee population in Illinois

Evaluation of the Impact of Overseas Pre-departure Treatment for Infection with Intestinal Parasites among Montagnard Refugees Migrating from Cambodia to North Carolina

“…Despite the small number of untreated persons in our study, the prevalence of infections with A. lumbricoides and hookworm were similar to that of untreated refugees from Southeast Asia who were resettled in Illinois and Minnesota around the same time as our study. 4,9 Strongyloides infection was also infrequent in these other refugee groups: 3.4% and less than 1% of refugees resettled in Illinois and Minnesota, respectively, had this parasite detected in their stool. 4,9 Although a five-day course of albendazole has been effective for treating G. intestinalis infections in a number of studies, [17][18][19] rates of infection were similar for treated adults (5.4%) and untreated pregnant women (6.7%).…”

“…4,9 Strongyloides infection was also infrequent in these other refugee groups: 3.4% and less than 1% of refugees resettled in Illinois and Minnesota, respectively, had this parasite detected in their stool. 4,9 Although a five-day course of albendazole has been effective for treating G. intestinalis infections in a number of studies, [17][18][19] rates of infection were similar for treated adults (5.4%) and untreated pregnant women (6.7%). The higher prevalence of G. intestinalis infection among children (15.9%) may reflect a higher pretreatment prevalence or reinfection after treatment.…”

“…1 Previous studies of refugee populations from Africa and Asia resettling in the United States have demonstrated substantial burdens of intestinal parasitic infection. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Among 402 Vietnamese Montagnard refugees screened after resettlement in North Carolina in 1992, virtually all were infected with at least one intestinal parasite. 7 In 1997, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) piloted an enhanced refugee health program for Barawan Somali refugees in Kenya, which included pre-departure treatment of intestinal parasites.…”

Intestinal parasites in stool testing among refugees at a primary care clinic in Toronto, Canada

“…Previous studies investigating the prevalence of intestinal parasites in fecal specimens among refugee populations arriving in higher income host countries have found rates ranging from 2 to 59% [ 17 – 23 ], with variation based on factors such as region of origin and age. Recommended strategies for enteric parasite screening and treatment also vary.…”

High prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Giardia, and Blastocystis in asymptomatic Syrian asylum seekers in Denmark during 2016 through 2018

“…Symptoms of intestinal parasite colonisation or infection range from absent or mild, through gastrointestinal complaints to organ failure, depending on the agent in question. Recent studies have found a relatively high prevalence (ranging from 17% to 59%) of gastrointestinal parasites in refugee populations in Sweden, USA, and Canada ( Benzeguir et al., 1999 , DeVetten et al., 2017 , Peterson et al., 2001 ) and abdominal pain—an unspecific symptom often linked to being colonised with gastrointestinal parasites—is consistently found to be one of the most common complaints among refugees seen in primary care or in the emergency department ( Eiset and Wejse, 2017 , Padovese et al., 2014 , Sariaydin et al., 2018 , Xu et al., 2018 ). Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is a public health concern in general and in particular in migration health because of the risk of dissemination of the antimicrobial-resistant genes to otherwise susceptible organisms ( accessed November 26, 2020 , MacPherson et al., 2009 ).…”