Korean J Parasitol.  2019 Dec;57(6):595-599. 10.3347/kjp.2019.57.6.595.

Discovery of Eurytrema Eggs in Sediment from a Colonial Period Latrine in Taiwan

• Yeh HY
• Cheng CJ
• Huang C
• Zhan X
• Wong WK
• Mitchell P

• KMID: 2469990
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3347/kjp.2019.57.6.595

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.

Keyword

Eurytrema; colonial period latrine; Batongguan Trail; Taiwan

MeSH Terms

Animals
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Cattle
Diet
Eggs*
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Grasshoppers
Gryllidae
Humans
Intestines
Microscopy
Ovum*
Parasites
Police
Taiwan*
Toilet Facilities*