Prevalence of parasites in the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania): epidemiology past and present ATS METSIS, ANTS JÕGISTE, REGINA VIRBALIENÉ, AND LUDMILA JUREVICA

The history of prevalence studies of parasitic infections in the Baltic countries goes back to the nineteenth century. At the Tartu University in Estonia, at least four dissertations dedicated to the epidemiology of helminthosis have been defended during the last century (Erdmann 1833; Lieven 1834; Karamarenkow 1841; Szydlowski 1879). The data available from Szydlowski (1879) indicate the prevalence of helminthosis among the population of Tartu: Ascaris lumbricoides, 25%; Diphyllobothrium latum, 10%; Trichocephalus trichiurus, 4%; Taenia solium, 1%.