Infecciones por parásitos en trabajadores de la salud: transmisión y control

the main purpose of this article is to actualize laboratorians and health care workers about the potential hazard of handling specimens that contains parasites (protozoa and helminthes) and about the diseases that can induce. we provide information about protozoa that have caused health care workers infections: leishmania spp ., plasmodium spp ., babesia spp ., toxoplasma gondii., trypanosoma ., entamoeba ., giarda and cryptosporidium . health care workers-acquired helminthic infection are: onchocerca , schistosoma, taenia solium and t. saginata . the review discussion focus on the parasite (morphology, life cycle, etc), the disease that developed; the parasite distribution, the natural transmission, the clinical manifestation that induce, and the laboratory methods used to document infection. the different types of transmission into the laboratory (laboratory-acquired cases), the patient control (antiparasitic drugs). to decrease the likelihood of accidental infection, recommendations are discussed. safety precautions protocols should be provided for health care workers.