Entamoeba histolytica and/or Entamoeba dispar Infection Amongst the Orang Asli Children at Pos Sungai Rual, Jeli, Kelantan

Entamoeba histolytica and/or Entamoeba dispar is an intestinal protozoa that has a high prevalence of infection among the indigenous aboriginal community. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical areas and in developing countries compared with developed countries. A total of 111 fecal samples of aboriginal children from the Jahai tribe was screened for Entamoeba histolytica and/or Entamoeba dispar using the direct smear technique which yielded 43 positive samples with a prevalence of 38.7%. Due to inadequate amount of the fecal samples, only 66 samples were examined with three different diagnostic techniques i.e. direct smear, formalin-ether concentration and trichrome staining. The results showed high prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica and/or Entamoeba dispar with 50% prevalence using all three diagnostic techniques. The high prevalence of infection was also demonstrated in female children at 62.5% compared with 30.8% in the males (p 0.05). In terms of age, children aged 7-9 years old were more vulnerable to Entamoeba histolytica and/or Entamoeba dispar infection, at 60.7% prevalence (p 0.05). Trichrome staining technique demonstrated 100% detection for Entamoeba histolytica and/or Entamoeba dispar infection followed by formalin-ether concentration technique at 78.8% and 72.7% for direct smear. Higher prevalence of infection among aboriginal children in Pos Sungai Rual was associated with various factors such as low socioeconomic status, lack of knowledge on health care and poor hygiene. The high prevalence of infection in this study is also attributed to various diagnostic techniques employed, indicating the importance of the use of a more effective diagnostic method in the routine diagnosis for intestinal parasites.