In Slovakia, the Roma population forms the second-largest ethnic minority. A large part of the Roma is semi-nomadic or lives in segregated settlements with poor living standards and limited access to health facilities. More than 40 years ago, a cross-sectional survey revealed a high prevalence of parasitic infections. There is a paucity of recent data, and hence, we designed a study in order to investigate the current status of intestinal parasitic infections in this population. Overall, 259 children aged 7 months to 18 years from 32 different segregated settlements provided faecal samples for microscopic examination using two different techniques. Almost 40% of the samples yielded a positive result, with Ascaris lumbricoides (27%) and Giardia intestinalis (9%) being the most frequent helminth and intestinal protozoa species, respectively. Many children younger than 2 years were found to be infected, which suggests that community transmission is important. In view of our findings, there is a pressing need for targeted action to improve the health status of this neglected population.

在斯洛伐克，罗姆人是第二大少数民族。罗姆人的很大一部分是半游牧民族，或生活在偏僻的定居点，生活水平差，无法获得保健设施。40多年前，一项横断面调查显示，寄生虫感染的患病率很高。最近的数据很少，因此，我们设计了一项研究，以调查该人群中肠道寄生虫感染的现状。总体而言，来自32个不同隔离区的259个7个月至18岁的儿童提供了粪便样本，以便使用两种不同的技术进行显微镜检查。样品的近40％，得到了肯定的结果，与蛔虫（27％）和贾第虫属肠（9％）分别是最常见的蠕虫和肠道原生动物物种。发现许多2岁以下的儿童被感染，这表明社区传播很重要。根据我们的发现，迫切需要采取有针对性的行动来改善这一被忽视人群的健康状况。