Intestinal Parasites in Children up to 14 Years Old Hospitalized with Diarrhea in Mozambique, 2014–2019
Ofélia Luís Nhambirre,
Idalécia Cossa-Moiane,
Adilson Fernando Loforte Bauhofer,
Assucênio Chissaque,
Maria Luisa Lobo,
Olga Matos,
Nilsa de Deus
Affiliations
Ofélia Luís Nhambirre
Group of Opportunistic Protozoa/HIV and Other Protozoa, Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Medical Parasitology Unit, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
Idalécia Cossa-Moiane
Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), EN1, Bairro da Vila-Parcela n°3943, Distrito de Marracuene, Maputo 264, Mozambique
Adilson Fernando Loforte Bauhofer
Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), EN1, Bairro da Vila-Parcela n°3943, Distrito de Marracuene, Maputo 264, Mozambique
Assucênio Chissaque
Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), EN1, Bairro da Vila-Parcela n°3943, Distrito de Marracuene, Maputo 264, Mozambique
Maria Luisa Lobo
Group of Opportunistic Protozoa/HIV and Other Protozoa, Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Medical Parasitology Unit, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
Olga Matos
Group of Opportunistic Protozoa/HIV and Other Protozoa, Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Medical Parasitology Unit, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1349-008 Lisboa, Portugal
Nilsa de Deus
Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INS), EN1, Bairro da Vila-Parcela n°3943, Distrito de Marracuene, Maputo 264, Mozambique
Diarrhea remains a public health problem in Mozambique, even with control strategies being implemented. This analysis aimed to determine the proportion and factors associated with intestinal parasitic infection (IPI) in children up to 14 years old with diarrheal disease, in the southern, central and northern regions of Mozambique. A single diarrheal sample of 1424 children was collected in hospitals and examined using the formol-ether concentration and modified Ziehl–Neelsen techniques to identify intestinal parasites using optical microscopy. Sociodemographic characteristics were obtained by questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation were performed, and p-values Cryptosporidium spp. was the most common parasite (8.1%; 115/1424). Polyparasitism was seen in 26.0% (71/273), with the co-infection of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura (26.8%; 19/71) being the most common. Age and province were related to IPI (p-value p-value = 0.017). Cryptosporidium spp. and the combination of A. lumbricoides/T. trichiura were the main intestinal parasites observed in children hospitalized with diarrhea in Mozambique.
