Enterobius vermicularis infection among pre-school children in Karen hilltribe villages in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

We surveyed Karen hilltribe villages in the Mae Chaem District of Chiang Mai Province between April and May 2001. Two hundred and forty-nine pre-school children were selected by stratified sampling from 10 villages and were examined for Enterobius vermicularis eggs by the Scotch tape perianal examination technique. One hundred and thirteen (53 boys and 60 girls) were found to have E. vermicularis eggs, giving an overall infection rate of 45.38%. We were able to determine that E. vermicularis infection is prevalent among the children of these hilltribe villages.