Discovery of Eurytrema Eggs in Sediment from a Colonial Period Latrine in Taiwan
10.3347/kjp.2019.57.6.595
- Author:
Hui Yuan YEH
1
;
Chieh-fu Jeff CHENG
;
ChingJung HUANG
;
Xiaoya ZHAN
;
Weng Kin WONG
;
Piers D MITCHELL
Author Information
1. School of Humanities, Nanyang Technological University, 14 Nanyang Drive, 637332 Singapore.
- Publication Type:Brief Communication
- Keywords:
Eurytrema;
colonial period latrine;
Batongguan Trail;
Taiwan
- MeSH:
Animals;
Asian Continental Ancestry Group;
Cattle;
Diet;
Eggs;
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay;
Grasshoppers;
Gryllidae;
Humans;
Intestines;
Microscopy;
Ovum;
Parasites;
Police;
Taiwan;
Toilet Facilities
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology
2019;57(6):595-599
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
In this study we take a closer look at the diseases that afflicted Japanese police officers who were stationed in a remote mountainous region of Taiwan from 1921 to 1944. Samples were taken from the latrine at the Huabanuo police outpost, and analyzed for the eggs of intestinal parasites, using microscopy and ELISA. The eggs of Eurytrema sp., (possibly E. pancreaticum), whipworm and roundworm were shown to be present. True infection with Eurytrema would indicate that the policemen ate uncooked grasshoppers and crickets infected with the parasite. However, false parasitism might also occur if the policemen ate the uncooked intestines of infected cattle, and the Eurytrema eggs passed through the human intestines. These findings provide an insight into the diet and health of the Japanese colonists in Taiwan nearly a century ago.