Tamkeen Bughra, Afeefa Sultan, Nada Aslam, Shumaila Fahim, Asiya Siddiq, Faizul Mominat.
Problems of intestinal protozoal carriers in Arafat Town, Karachi.
Ann Abbasi Shaheed Hosp Karachi Med Dent Coll Jan ;9(1):537-40.

Objective: To find out the frequency of the carrier state of intestinal protozoa among the residents of Arafat town. Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Setting: The study was conducted in Arafat Town, Karachi during the months of April and May 2003. Subjects: Hundred and fifty subjects participated in the study, in which seventy-five were adults and seventy-five were children of more than one year of age. Sampling: Convenient sampling. Tools: After taking the verbal consent, all 150 subjects were interviewed by a structural questionnaire and then each person was provided with a clean. plastic container to collect formed stool. Samples were examined using normal saline and iodine preparation. Results: Out of 150 participants: 22 participants (14.7%) are found carriers of Giardia lamblia. 12 participants (8%) are found carriers of Entamoeba histolytica. 32 participants (21%) have other findings, which are Ascaris in 8%, H.nana in 4.7%, Pus cells in 11.3% and Candida in 2% Conclusion: There is a high frequency of protozoal carriers in Arafat town and the risk factors associated with Protozoal Infections are contaminated water sources, poor sewerage system and poor personal hygiene.

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