PREVALENCE AND INFECTION DUE TO INTESTINAL PARASITES IN CHILDREN WHO LIVE ON THE BANK OF CANAL NORTE, S. M. DE TUCUMÁN, ARGENTINA

CARLOS LÓPEZ; MIGUEL CABRERA; JULIÁN RAFAEL DIB

Tafí del Valle, Tucumán

Jornada; XX Jornadas Científicas de la Asociación de Biología de Tucumán; 2003

The aim of this work was studied parasitic prevalence in children of 1 to 16 years old who live in a sector from Canal Norte, Tucumán, Argentina. It was worked with 115 serial faecal samples that were collected in wide-mouthed bottles with 10 ml of formol 5% as preserving liquid. Samples were examined using the direct smear technique and were enrichment with two enrichment methods: Ritchie (sedimentation) and Faust (flotation). The overall prevalence of parasitism was 78.26 %. Within helminths, Ascaris lumbricoides was the most common (38.89%) followed by Trichuris trichiura (13.33%), Strongyloides stercoralis (13.33%), Hymenolepis nana (7.78%) and Enterobius vermicularis (3.33%). Infection frequencies due to protozoa were: Blastocystis hominis 69.89%, Giardia intestinalis 33.33%, Entamoeba coli 24.44%, Endolimax nana 12.22%, Chilomastix mesnili 5.56% and Iodamoeba bustchili 2.22%. Multiple infections were common (71.11%). Parasitism levels were high and agree with others works done in the province, in which the prevalence was between 70 to 80%. That constitutes a social and cultural degradation indicator and an alarm for government functionaries