Studies on the intestinal parasites in African patients in Owamboland, South West Africa

The paper gives the results of a survey of intestinal parasites among 501 in-patients drawn from four mission hospitals in Owambo and Kavango in northern South West Africa. Most of the patients (90%) were examined twice by the formol-ether concentration method, while the remaining 10% had one stool specimen examined. 10 species of helminths and 3 species of potentially-pathogenic protozoa were recorded--Necator americanus, Strongyloides stercoralis, Strongyloides fuelleborni, Hymenolepis nana, Taenia saginata, Trichuris trichura, Enterobius vermicularis, Fasciola gigantica, Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium, and Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia and Balantidium coli. The loads of Necator americanus were recorded in a few cases. The results are compared with those of some other Central and Southern African countries. 96 blood smears were examined for filaria and 46 patients were tested for bilharzia using the bilharzial skin test. Both groups gave only negative results.