Pediatric screening of Southeast Asian immigrants

Abstract

Statistics from the first three months of operation of the Santa Clara County Indochinese Health Screening Clinic were analyzed for prevalence of anemia, parasitism, and exposure to tuberculosis in Southeast Asian children and young adults, ages 9 months to 24 years. Anemia was extremely common in infants up to 5 years of age (35.7%) and decreased to 4.8% in the 15-24 year-old category. Parasitism was not-age-dependent, with an average of 58.8% per cent of those screened exhibiting infestation. Positivity in tuberculin skin testing showed a pattern opposite to that of anemia, with a prevalence of 13 per cent in infants and children, rising to 34 per cent in young adults. Over 90 per cent of the target population was successfully screened. Health problems of Indochinese immigrants may be age-related and are very efficiently and effectively identified by an area-wide screening program.