Surveillance for enteric parasites among U.S. military personnel and civilian staff on Joint Task Force Base-Bravo in Soto Cano, Honduras and the local population in Comayagua and La Paz, Honduras

A study was conducted in Honduras to address whether military personnel assigned to Joint Task Force-Bravo in Soto Cano, Honduras, routinely acquire parasite infections, and the results were compared with those collected from civilian base workers and the general local population in the nearby towns of Comayagua and La Paz. Results from this study report 21 species of enteric parasites among Hondurans living in Comayagua and La Paz, 13 species among local Hondurans working as base civilian personnel, and 3 species among U.S. military servicemen and women. The most prevalent organism found was Blastocystis hominis, infecting 95 people (35.8% of 265 samples). Prevalence rates in this study are similar to documented reports on parasite transmission in Central American countries and other areas of Honduras. Although preventive protocols for U.S. military "force protection" appear to be effective in controlling transmission, continuous surveillance for enteric parasites is warranted because of the high parasite loads in the populations with which military personnel come into contact.