The quarterly clinics conducted by Sante Total have identified recurrent symptoms among the pediatric population; primarily stomach aches, headaches and stunted growth. Helminth infections has been notably associated with malnutrition in developing countries. Helminth infections can have detrimental effects on a community by affecting pediatric and adolescent nutrition and thus physical and mental development. In order to determine if helminth infection is the underlying cause of these health care issues in Jacsonville, stool samples were analyzed from the youth of the community and the surrounding area . Data from the sampling is being analyzed and will be presented at the Family Medicine Global Health Workshopin Baltimore, MD on October, 2013. This research is the beginning of a two year project to determine the prevalence of pediatric Helminth infectionand the effects of newly introduced latrines on the worm burden.
Targeted medical treatment and intervention projects such as latrine construction and sanitation education are underway and can be enhanced by the data collected from stool sampling.
