A SAMPLE SURVEY OF SELECTED AREAS IN AND NEAR LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, TO ASSESS THE PREVALENCE OF ENTAMOEBA HISTOLYTICA.

Laboratory confirmed clinical amoebiasis was diagnosed among more than 50 persons by the University of Arkansas Medical Center from 1965 to 1961. The presence of this number of patients prompted an investigation into the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica in four selected areas in and around Little Rock, Arkansas. The results of the study, using a sample survey technique, showed that it is possible to have a seemingly large number of clinically significant cases of amoebiasis in a population without a high prevalence of the parasite. Evidence was also obtained of the beneficial effects of improvements in sanitary facilities, as reflected in the lower amoebic prevalence rate in a 0-4-year age-group from one of the four areas surveyed in which a piped, indoor city-water supply and sewage facilities had been installed six years previously.