Prevalence of intestinal parasites among expatriate workers in Al ...

Middle East Journal of Family Medicine, 2005; Vol. 3 (3)Treatment is dispensed free for the infected cases.Metronidazole is highly effective against E. histolyticaand Giardia lamblia.It is concluded that high prevalence of parasites amongexpatriates should be considered as a pointer to a healthproblem that may exert its effect on the Saudi societydue to the nature of the expatriates' work.It is recommended that health education should beincreased to raise the awareness of the society aboutsuch health problems. Among the ways to control thisproblem is the immediate check-up upon arrival oflabor.Table 1: Socio-demographic characteristics of the studied sampleCharacteristics No. (%)SexMaleFemale95899(9.6%)(90.4%)NationalitySri LankanIndonesianFilipinoIndianOthers445278179866(44.8%)(28%)(18%)(8.6%)(0.6%)Type of workHousemaidDriverCookBaby-sitterOthers898721185(90.3%)(7.3%)(1.1%)(0.8%)(0.5%)Mean age for MaleMean age for Female3934Total 994**Small numbers of the selected sample (2.5%) were found medically unfit and were rejected.Table 2: Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among the studied samplePattern of infectionSingle infectionDouble infectionTriple infectionQuadruple infectionTotal number of infected casesTotal sampleInfected casesNo. %2227017331299422.37.11.70.331.410019