[Intestinal parasites in foreigners entering East Germany]

Among the so-called imported diseases the intestinal parasitoses occupy an important place. Examinations of 5,168 foreigners who entered our country in the district of Halle resulted in the most frequent invasiveness for Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) with 54.33%, Ascaris lumbricoides (eel-worm) with 26.90% and ancylostomatides (hookworms) with 17.88%. The Entamoeba histolytica could be proved in 1.90% of the test persons, the Giardia lamblia in 3.35%. The severest parasitism showed persons from East Asia as well as from tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and America; multiple infestations were not infrequent. With regard to the possibility of the importation of parasitic infectious diseases given by the increasing intercontinental contacts, for which there is generally receptivity in our area, recent increases of extensity in autochthonic parasitoses which could be extensively restrained by effective anti-epidemic measures cannot be excluded. This needs on principle consideration in the establishment of programmes of antiparasitic action.