%0 Journal Article
%T Parasitic Prevalence in a Suburban School of Famaill¨¢, Tucum¨¢n, Argentina
%A Juli¨¢n Dib
%A Juana Oquilla
%A Silvia G. Lazarte
%A Silvia N. Gonzalez
%J ISRN Microbiology
%D 2012
%R 10.5402/2012/560376
%X Prevalence of intestinal parasites was investigated in rural primary school children in Famaill¨¢ city, Tucum¨¢n province, Argentina. Stool specimens from 149 school children were collected. The prevalence rate of intestinal parasite infections was 86.6%. No significant differences were observed in the distribution by age or by sex. Blastocystis hominis was the most commonly found protozoan parasite (54.4%), followed by Entamoeba coli (35.6%), Giardia lamblia (24.8%), and others (16.7%). Enterobius vermicularis was the most prevalent intestinal helminth (27.5%), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (20.8%), Trichuris trichiura (12.8%), and others (5.4%). Most of the patients had polyparasitism (62.4%), and protozoan infections prevailed over helminthic infections. These results show high rates of parasitism in the school children of Famaill¨¢, which would be associated with socioeconomic factors and poor environmental sanitation conditions in this area. 1. Introduction The World Health Organization states that primary school children population is the most vulnerable group to acquire infection diseases such as parasites while their development is related to the environmental contamination as well as to the quality of consumed food [1]. From an epidemiological, socioeconomical, and ecological point of view, the county populations possess favourable conditions that allowed children to acquire intestinal infections with a greater frequency. Particularly, in Famaill¨¢ city, in the province of Tucum¨¢n, Argentina, there is little information related with epidemiologic data on children parasitoses. For that reason, the present work deals with the study of parasite-related infections detected in primary school students from the Institution no. 124, in Famaill¨¢. The aim of this work was to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasites in the former population in order to obtain accurate epidemiological data that can be used to program prevention schemes in this particular age group. 2. Materials and Methods For the cohort study, a group of 149 children from kindergarten and primary level of the school no. 124, Famaill¨¢ city, Tucum¨¢n, was selected and monitored through the summery station. Famaill¨¢, located 30£¿Km in the south of Tucum¨¢n capital district, has 32.000 habitants. The Famaill¨¢ district is situated in the central area of the province, limited at the North with the Lules district, at the East with the Leales district, at the South with the Monteros district, and at the West with the Taf¨ª del Valle district. The personal affiliation (name, sex, and age) of each
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.microbiology/2012/560376/