Migrant Workers in Malaysia: Current Implications of Sociodemographic and Environmental Characteristics in the Transmission of Intestinal Parasitic Infections

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016 Nov 2;10(11):e0005110. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005110. eCollection 2016 Nov.

Abstract

A cross-sectional study of intestinal parasitic infections amongst migrant workers in Malaysia was conducted. A total of 388 workers were recruited from five sectors including manufacturing, construction, plantation, domestic and food services. The majority were recruited from Indonesia (n = 167, 43.3%), followed by Nepal (n = 81, 20.9%), Bangladesh (n = 70, 18%), India (n = 47, 12.1%) and Myanmar (n = 23, 5.9.2%). A total of four nematode species (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Enterobius vermicularis and hookworms), one cestode (Hymenolepis nana) and three protozoan species (Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Giardia sp. and Cryptosporidium spp.) were identified. High prevalence of infections with A. lumbricoides (43.3%) was recorded followed by hookworms (13.1%), E. histolytica/dispar (11.6%), Giardia sp. (10.8%), T. trichura (9.5%), Cryptosporodium spp. (3.1%), H. nana (1.8%) and E. vermicularis (0.5%). Infections were significantly influenced by socio-demographic (nationality), and environmental characteristics (length of working years in the country, employment sector and educational level). Up to 84.0% of migrant workers from Nepal and 83.0% from India were infected with intestinal parasites, with the ascarid nematode A. lumbricoides occurring in 72.8% of the Nepalese and 68.1% of the Indian population. In addition, workers with an employment history of less than a year or newly arrived in Malaysia were most likely to show high levels of infection as prevalence of workers infected with A. lumbricoides was reduced from 58.2% to 35.4% following a year's residence. These findings suggest that improvement is warranted in public health and should include mandatory medical screening upon entry into the country.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Bangladesh
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Environment
  • Female
  • Helminths / classification
  • Helminths / genetics
  • Helminths / isolation & purification
  • Humans
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / epidemiology
  • Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / parasitology*
  • Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / transmission*
  • Malaysia / epidemiology
  • Malaysia / ethnology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myanmar
  • Nematoda / classification
  • Nematoda / genetics
  • Nematoda / isolation & purification
  • Parasites / classification
  • Parasites / genetics
  • Parasites / isolation & purification*
  • Transients and Migrants / statistics & numerical data
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by: University of Malaya, PPP grant (PG040-2014A) to SNMZ, http://umresearch.um.edu.my/; Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) from Ministry of Higher Education, (FP015-2014B) to SNMZ, http://www.mastic.gov.my/web/guest/frgs1; and UM/MoHE High Impact Research Grant (UM.C/ 625/1/HIR/MOHE/MED/23) to YALL, http://hir.um.edu.my/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.