Prevalence of Paragonimus westermani in some Ulchin school children

In order to estimate the prevalence of Paragonimus westermani among the school children in Ulchin county, Kyungpook Province, five primary schools were selected for sampling. The children were first examined using an intradermal test with Paragonimus antigen, Lot No. 890417, and then examined for Paragonimus eggs from sputa and stools collected from the intradermal-positive cases. In a total of 382 children examined, 53 cases or 13.9 percent revealed positive reactions for Paragonimus westermani. The sex specific rate of infection was a little higher in boys than in girls. The age specific rate of Paragonimus westermani infections varied from age to age. Paragonimus westermani was most prevalent in the 8-year-old group in both sexes and showed about the same proportion among boys and girls of each age group. A comparison of the reliability for the detection of Paragonimus eggs from intradermal positive cases in this study showed that the sputum test was more sensitive than the stool test. Summarizing the results, this study indicates that the prevalence for Paragonimus westermani is still high and the endemic foci of the fluke exists in Ulchin county, Kyungpook Province, Korea.