Epidemiology and geographical distribution of enteric protozoan infections in Sydney, Australia

Fletcher, S; Caprarelli, G; Merif, J; Andresen, D; Van Hal, S; Stark, D; Ellis, J

Epidemiology and geographical distribution of enteric protozoan infections in Sydney, Australia

Fletcher, S Caprarelli, G

Merif, J Andresen, D Van Hal, S Stark, D Ellis, J

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Public Health Research, 2014, 3 (2), pp. 83 - 91
Issue Date:: 2014-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Fletcher, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Caprarelli, G https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9578-3228	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Merif, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Andresen, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Van Hal, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Stark, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ellis, J https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7328-4831	en_US
dc.date.available	2014-08-05	en_US
dc.date.issued	2014-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Public Health Research, 2014, 3 (2), pp. 83 - 91	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	2279-9028	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/34140
dc.description.abstract	© 2014 S. Fletcher et al., 2014. Results: Frequently detected protozoa were Blastocystis spp. (57%), Giardia intestinalis (27%) and Dientamoeba fragilis (12%). The age distribution showed that the prevalence of protozoa decreased with age up to 24 years but increasing with age from 25 years onwards. The geographic provenance of the patients indicates that the majority of cases of Blastocystis (53.1%) are clustered in and around the Sydney City Business District, while pockets of giardiasis were identified in regional/rural areas. The distribution of cases suggests higher risk of protozoan infection may exist for some communities.Conclusions: These findings provide useful information for policy makers to design and tailor interventions to target high risk communities Follow-up investigation into the risk factors for giardiasis in regional/rural areas is needed.Background: Enteric protozoa are associated with diarrhoeal illnesses in humans; however there are no recent studies on their epidemiology and geographical distribution in Australia. This study describes the epidemiology of enteric protozoa in the state of New South Wales and incorporates spatial analysis to describe their distribution.Design and methods: Laboratory and clinical records from four public hospitals in Sydney for 910 patients, who tested positive for enteric protozoa over the period January 2007 - December 2010, were identified, examined and analysed. We selected 580 cases which had residence post code data available, enabling us to examine the geographic distribution of patients, and reviewed the clinical data of 252 patients to examine possible links between protozoa, demographic and clinical features.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Public Health Research	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.4081/jphr.2014.298	en_US
dc.title	Epidemiology and geographical distribution of enteric protozoan infections in Sydney, Australia	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.for	110803 Medical Parasitology	en_US
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Medical and Molecular Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	3	en_US

Abstract:

© 2014 S. Fletcher et al., 2014. Results: Frequently detected protozoa were Blastocystis spp. (57%), Giardia intestinalis (27%) and Dientamoeba fragilis (12%). The age distribution showed that the prevalence of protozoa decreased with age up to 24 years but increasing with age from 25 years onwards. The geographic provenance of the patients indicates that the majority of cases of Blastocystis (53.1%) are clustered in and around the Sydney City Business District, while pockets of giardiasis were identified in regional/rural areas. The distribution of cases suggests higher risk of protozoan infection may exist for some communities.Conclusions: These findings provide useful information for policy makers to design and tailor interventions to target high risk communities Follow-up investigation into the risk factors for giardiasis in regional/rural areas is needed.Background: Enteric protozoa are associated with diarrhoeal illnesses in humans; however there are no recent studies on their epidemiology and geographical distribution in Australia. This study describes the epidemiology of enteric protozoa in the state of New South Wales and incorporates spatial analysis to describe their distribution.Design and methods: Laboratory and clinical records from four public hospitals in Sydney for 910 patients, who tested positive for enteric protozoa over the period January 2007 - December 2010, were identified, examined and analysed. We selected 580 cases which had residence post code data available, enabling us to examine the geographic distribution of patients, and reviewed the clinical data of 252 patients to examine possible links between protozoa, demographic and clinical features.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/34140