PREVALENCE OF INTESTINAL PARASITES IN LATINO RESIDENTS OF

whom were Puerto Rican. Because migration to Chicago is constantly occurring from areas where intestinal parasites are endemic, a survey was conducted in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood to determine the prevalence of these parasites and to provide impetus for further case finding and treatment programs. The survey was part of an epidemiologic and clinical study of schistosomiasis. Teams of medical students and outreach workers going door-to-door obtained histories, hematocrits, and single stool specimens from 358 individuals. An overall intestinal parasite prevalence rate of 18.6 % (67 persons) was found. Specific rates were Trichuris trichiura 13.9 % (50 cases), hookworm 6.6 % (24 cases), Giardia lamblia 3.9 % (14 cases), and Strongyloides stercoralis 1.7 % (6 cases). There were no cases of Ascaris lumbricoides or Entamoeba histolytica, although several nonpathogenic protozoa were found. The most affected age groups were 15-24 years followed by 5-14. Two of the Giardia cases were individuals never out of the continental United States. An incidental finding was a high rate of low hematocrit readings not correlate