Current status of human parasitic infections in Taiwan

The eradication of the 2 mosquito-borne parasitic diseases, malaria and lymphatic filariasis, is one of the greatest achievements of the parasite control campaigns in Taiwan. Most of the soil-transmitted nematode infections, with the exception of pinworm infection, are currently well controlled and limited to some aboriginal areas. Food-borne parasitic zoonosis such as infections with Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Clonorchis sinensis, and Taenia saginata asiatica are not rare, but the former is seasonal and the latter 2 are ethnically and geographically associated. Intestinal protozoal infections with Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum are at low levels but may be widely distributed. Opportunistic protozoal infections among patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, which included amebic colitis, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and cerebral toxoplasmosis, are becoming increasingly important. The rapid increase in international travel and the introduction of large numbers of foreign workers from other countries in Southeast Asia may change the epidemiological patterns of parasitic infections in Taiwan.