To know the prevalence of
Enterobius vermicularis infection and what are the most important risk factors, we evaluated the incidence and risk factors of
enterobiasis among children attended in kindergartens in Busan metropolitan city, Republic of Korea. A total of 1,674 children from 21 kindergartens in 11 of 16 autonomous districts of Busan were evaluated for E. vermicularis
infection by the cellotape anal swab technique. The overall egg-positive rate for E. vermicularis was 10.7% (179/1,674), and the prevalence of
enterobiasis in each kindergarten ranged between 0% and 32.4%. There was an increasing tendency of the egg positive rate according to the population density; the higher the population density communities had, the higher egg-positive rate for E. vermicularis was detected (P = 0.001). Among personal hygiene factors involving children, thumb-sucking (P = 0.036) and fingernail-trimming (P = 0.024) were highly associated with
enterobiasis. In addition, taking
anthelmintic medications against E. vermicularis
infection was strongly associated with
enterobiasis (P = 0.014). Moreover, parents' knowledge of
enterobiasis was correlated significantly with the incidence of
enterobiasis of their children (P = 0.006). In conclusion, we need to consider not only personal hygiene but also parents' knowledge about
enterobiasis as
a factor in order to develop new strategies for elimination or to complete reduction of
enterobiasis in Korea.