HIGH PREVALENCE OF STRONGYLOIDES STERCORALIS AMONG FARM WORKERS ON THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST OF SPAIN: ANALYSIS OF THE PREDICTIVE FACTORS OF INFECTION IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Abstract. Strongyloidiasis is a parasitosis characterized by persistent infection before dissemination and the devel-opment of potentially fatal disease. Since diagnosis is difficult, knowledge of the prevalence and geographic distribution of the disease is of practical importance. A study was made of Strongyloides stercoralis infection in a random and representative sample of farm workers in a tourist region in Spain based on the detection of larvae of triple stool samples. The prevalence of infection was 12.4 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 8.4−16.4). None of the 26 clinical or epide-miologic variables analyzed were found to be predictive of infection. Only eosinophilia (> 400 eosinophils/mm3) was significantly greater among the infected individuals (odds ratio 73.4, 95 % CI 16.3−327.0), with a sensitivity of 93.5 % and a specificity of 93.1%. A screening program is proposed to detect eosinophilia, to provide treatment without stool examinations, and thus afford a cost-effective policy for preventing the development of severe forms of the disease among specific risk groups where the prevalence of other parasitoses is low