Soil transmitted helminthiasis in Kathmandu, Nepal.

A total of 200 soil samples taken from different sites and 1,504 stool samples collected from school children (n = 188) and patients (n = 1,316) visiting the health care centres in Kathmandu Valley were included in this study. Soil samples were investigated for the presence of parasitic eggs using sucrose flotation technique. Stool samples were examined by formal-ether concentration and direct smear techniques. The contamination rate of soil with parasitic eggs and larvae was found to be 28.5% (57/ 200). The overall parasitic infection rates in school children and patients were 42.5% and 2.8%, respectively. Four types of parasites were detected from soil samples, of which Ascaris was the most common. Trichuris was most common among school children whereas Ascaris in patients. Females in both study groups had higher prevalence compared with male counterparts with significantly low rate in health care centre visiting patients (p < 0.05).

Intestinal parasitosis among the elderly people in Kathmandu Valley.

Present study was carried out among the elderly people (60+ years of age) from August 2005 to July 2006 in Kathmandu Valley to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasitosis in them. Stool samples were collected from 235 elderly people (122 from government elderly home, 66 from private elderly home and 47 from the households in a rural community). The samples were examined by formal ether sedimentation and Sheather's sucrose floatation followed by Kinyoun's modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was found to be 41.7%, out of which 30.6% had multiple parasitism. The government elderly home had significantly higher parasitic prevalence (50.8%) followed by the rural community (46.8%) and the private elderly homes (21.2%) (P<0.05). Males (43.8%) had slightly infection rate than females (40.4%) (P>0.05). There was equal infection rate with protozoa (25.8%) and helminths (27.0%). Trichuris trichiura (39.4%) and Entamoeba histolytica (19.7%) were the commonest helminth and protozoa, respectively.

Microbial study of hospital environment and carrier pattern study among staff in Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital.

The present study was done to see the microbial flora in the environment (air and surface) of Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital and the staffs working in the hospital. Altogether 160 environmental (air n = 43, surface n = 117) samples were collected and studied from different wards. Similarly 150 samples (48 nasal swabs, 48 throat swabs and 54 hand samples) from the staffs were collected and studied following the standard microbiological protocols. Gram +ve cocci were the most predominant ones among the bacterial isolates from the environment followed by gram +ve bacilli and gram -ve bacilli. Among fungal isolates, yeast were the most common isolates while Aspergillus spp. were the most frequently occurring mold. Out of 150 samples collected for the study of carrier pattern, 32 out of 54 samples collected were found to have Staphylococcus aureus in their hands, 1 had Escherichia coli. Other isolates were Bacillus spp., Micrococci and coagulase negative staphylococci. Similarly 21 (43.8%) out of 48 nasal samples were found to have S. aureus while none of the staffs were found to have beta-hemolytic streptococci in their throat. In the study, 1.6% environmental isolates and 5.7% carrier isolates of S. aureus were found to be Methicillin resistant.