• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.43 no.4 s.136
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• pp.129-134
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• 2005

To determine the status of Enterobius vermicularis infection among children living on western and southern coastal islands of the Republic of Korea, children (3-10 years) in 39 kindergartens and primary schools were examined using the cello-tape anal swab method, during July and August 2000. Of 1,661 children examined, $307(18.5\%) $were found to be positive for E. vermicularis eggs. The highest infection rate $(59.3\%)$ was found in a kindergarten and a branch school of Shinyang primary school on Chujado, Jeju-do (Province), Remarkable differences in egg positive rates were observed in different localities. The egg positive rate for boys $(21.3\%)$ was significantly higher than that of girls $(15.4\%)$ (P=0.02). However, positive rates were not significantly dependent on age. The results of the present study show that E. vermicularis infection is highly prevalent among pre-school and primary school children living on the western and southern coastal islands of the Republic of Korea, and indicate the need for efforts to control this infection.