Prevalence of intestinal parasites in school children from Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela: comparison between two periods

Abstract

The prevalence of intestinal parasites in 921 schoolchildren from nine schools in Ciudad Bolivar, Bolivar State, Venezuela during the period 2009-2013 was determined and compared with that obtained in the same city in the period 1995-1996 in seven schools and 446 children. At the first opportunity the fecal samples were analyzed by direct examination and Willis technical; while for the second, feces were submitted to direct, Kato and spontaneous sedimentation. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites for the periods 1995-1996 and 2009-2013 was 52% and 62.9% respectively. In the first period, the helminths prevailed and the second, the Chromistas-Protozoa group turned more prevalent. For 1995-1996, the helminths Trichuris trichiura (24.2%) and Ascaris lumbricoides (19.5%) were more common; while for the period 2009-2013, the Chromista Blastocystis spp. was the most prevalent (47.6%), followed by protozoan Endolimax nana (17.7%). In all these cases the difference was significant (p <0.05) when the prevalence of both periods being compared. We conclude that there was a change in the prevalence of intestinal parasites in the study population: in the first period (1995-1996) dominated the helminths and the second (2009-2013) the Chromista Blastocystis spp. and protozoa.

Keywords

• parásitos intestinales
• escolares
• Blastocystis spp.