The Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites and Enteropathogenic Bacteria in James Bay Cree Indians, Quebec

We conducted a survey to identify the intestinal parasites and enteropathogenic bacteria involved in episodes of diarrhea in the James Bay (Quebec) Cree, a previously unsurveyed area of Canada. 382 stool samples obtained from a random sample of the population were examined; 29.3% were positive for at least one parasite and 21 different serotypes of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC)were isolated from 6.5% of the stool samples. Stepwise discriminant analysis showed that, in order of importance, age, number of persons per household and the specific village were significantly correlated with parasitic infection. The presence or absence of running water was weakly associated with infection. We conclude that overcrowding is an important and potentially reversible causal factor accounting for the high prevalence of intestinal parasites in this population.