[The occurrence of intestinal parasites among children attending first classes of the elementary schools in Poland in the school year 1997/1998].

OBJECTIVE The studies were undertaken to: (i) evaluate the epidemiological situation of infections with intestinal parasites among seven-year-old children attending first classes of the elementary schools in 25 provinces of Poland (ii) answer the question concerning an influence of the summer flood 1997 on the epidemiological situation of intestinal parasitoses in the affected regions. METHODS The studies included 30,110 children, i.e. 10% of the population of seven-year-olds, in the provinces under study, and were based on the examination of a single faecal specimen and a cellophane swab using the following methods: wet mount preparations in 0.9% NaCl and diluted Lugol,s iodine, zinc sulphate centrifugal flotation and decantation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The parasites most frequently encountered in the examinations included: Enterobius vermicularis (in 16.45% of the examined), Ascaris lumbricoides (2.8%), Giardia intestinalis (1.02%), Entamoeba coli (0.73%), Trichuris trichiura (0.29%). The obtained results confirmed the decreasing frequency of infections with intestinal parasites in Poland and indicated that the summer flood of 1997 had a little influence on the epidemiological situation of intestinal parasitoses in the affected regions.