Echinostoma malayanum Infection, the Philippines

teristics of norovirus outbreaks during a non-epidemic season. An automated , broad-based, near real-time public health surveillance system using presentations to hospital emergency departments al. Outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis on cruise ships and on land: identifi cation of a predominant circulating strain of noro-virus—United States, 2002. Emergence of a new noro-virus genotype II.4 variant associated with global outbreaks of gastroenteritis. virus 95/96-US strain is a major cause gas-troenteritis outbreaks in Australia. number of norovirus outbreaks associated with GGII.4 variant in The Netherlands and elsewhere: does this herald a worldwide increase? To the Editor: In 2002, the Department of Health-Provincial Health Team (DOH-PHT) of Surigao del Norte reported 102 cases of fasciol-id-like infections in the municipality of Santa Monica, Siargao Island, the Philippines. The reports were based on characteristic large operculate eggs having been found in routine stool examinations conducted during schisto-somiasis surveys. Fasciola hepatica infection was the initial diagnosis considered. In 2005, a collaborative team from DOH-PHT, the National Institutes of Health, the University of the Philippines Manila, and the Local Government Unit/Rural Health Unit conducted a fi eld investigation to determine the cumulative prevalence of intestinal helminthic infections in adult patients whose conditions had been previously diagnosed as fasciol-id-like infection and to determine the causative species of trematode. The study group consisted of 70 adult patients from the barangay (local government unit of 50–100 families) of Libertad, for whom fasciolid infections had been noted on previous surveys. Researchers confi rmed infections and collected adult trematodes for species identifi cation. All patients underwent bowel preparation with bi-sacodyl (Dulcolax) 10-mg tablets (2 tablets taken immediately after a meal on night before deworming), followed by praziquantel (25 mg/kg in 2 doses 4 h apart), and 30-g magnesium sulfate granules, dissolved in 1 cup of milk, given 1 h after the second dose of pra-ziquantel. Stools were processed by using the Kato-Katz method (1) and examined microscopically by medical technologists from the Diagnostic Parasitology Laboratory, College of Public Health, University of the Phil-ippines Manila, for intestinal helminth ova. In addition, a clinical history was taken and a complete physical examination was conducted for each patient volunteer after stool submission. Eating preferences and habits were spe-cifi cally noted. The research was approved by the Department of Health Center for Health Development of the Caraga region. Informed consent was obtained before procedures were done and treatment was given to infected patients. Cumulative prevalence for soil-transmitted …