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Intestinal parasites in school children at a public institution in Maracaibo municipality, Venezuela

Abstract:

To determine the prevalence and epidemiological parameters of intestinal parasites in schoolchildren, a faecal analysis was performed in 349 individuals of both sexes, between 5 and 16 years of age. The methodology used included, a fresh test, formol-ether technique and faecal egg counts by the Kato-Katz method. Eighty three per cent of the children presented enteroparasites, with a high prevalence of polyparasitism (71.6%). There was not significative difference between parasitoses, sex and age. However, it was observed an increase of helminthiasis and protozooses in children between 7 and 10 years of age. The principal enteroparasites founded were: Trichuris trichiura (41.8%), Ascaris lumbricoides (35.2%), Blastocystis hominis (48.1%) and Endolimax nana (22.9%). When the intensity of infestation was studied by the faecal egg counts, it was observed that the highest percentage of children with T. trichiura had light infestations (84.3%), while 45.9% of the children with A. lumbricoides had severe infestations. The Abundance, Mean Intensity and Aggregation Coefficient (k) values show an over-dispersed spatial disposition of both helminths, where only few children harbour heavy burdens and eliminate a large quantity of eggs. This aggregation was higher for T. trichiura (k = 0.298) than for A. lumbricoides (k = 1.138).