Smarting Research Articles

Parasitosis intestinal en el universitario costarricense I. Helmintiasis

The incidence and symptomatology of intestinal helminth parasites were investigated in 1000 male and 1000 female entering students of the University of Costa Rica aged 17 to 20 years. The over-all incidence of helminths was of 41 per cent. The most frequent parasite was Trichuris trichiura (33% in men, 31.4% in women), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (5.8% in men, 7% in women) Allcylostoma-Necator (5.8% in men, 1.2% in women). There were also found Strollgyloides stercoralis (1.6% in men, 0.6% in women), Enterobius vermicularis (2 cases, in females), Hymenolepis nana (1.6% in men, 1.4% in women) and Taenia spp. (0.6% in men, 1.0% in women). Helminthiasis symptoms in young adults have been little investigated. It is therefore interesting to note the occurence among these students of head­ aches, smarting of the conjunctive, and dysmenorrhea as the most frequent manifestations. Gastro-intestinal, hepatic, nervous, and allergic symptoms were also observed. Trichuris trichiura the most frequent nematode, causes also the highest incidence of symptoms, specially in females. Further studies are desirable to determine whether certain frequent des­orders, such as headaches, conjunctival smarting, and dysmenorrhea should be investigated primarily as of helminthic origin, and especially as probable symp­toms of Trichuris trichiura.

Parasitosis intestinal en el universitario costarricense II. Protozoosis

A study is presented of the incidence of protozoan parasitosis in Costa Rican university freshmen. One thousand 'students of either sex were examined, and the symptoms exhibited were recorded along with the results. The total incidence of protozoan parasites was of 54.4 percent, a higher figure than we found for helmintos (2). No significant difference was found in relation to sex. Entamoeba coli was the most frequent parasite (39.45%). Although usually considered a saprozoic species, the occurrence of digestive, hepatic, and nervous symptoms, smarting of the conjunctive, and dismenorrhoea in the host individuals suggests it may have a causal relation to these symptoms. Entomoeba histolytica was found in relatively low frequency (4.6%). Students parasitized by protozoa exhibited in general a greater incidence of ob­servable symptoms, in varying degrees and combinations, than non-parasitized students; the most frequent symptoms were those mentioned above. Considering the effect of the symptoms recorded on students' general efficiency, and having observed an improvement after specific treatment, we believe all protozoan parasitosis cases should be treated, even if the species involved are not usually considered pathogenic.

Angola: The Present Opportunity

As remote and improbable a venue for a crisis in American foreign policy as Quemoy or the Gulf of Tonkin, Angola (1975) came to assume a Munich-like symbolism in the calculations of Americans who perceived a threat of Soviet expansionism into the third world during the latter years of the Brezhnev era. Smarting from a political/military shutout in Angola that came on the heels of a humiliating American exodus from Saigon, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger pointed to Angola as the “principal” cause of a deterioration in U.S.-Soviet relations. Subsequent policy confrontations over Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Nicaragua and Cambodia reinforced this perception of Angola as the beginning of the end of detente.