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Intestinal parasites are the causative agents of common infections responsible for significant public health problems in developing countries and generally linked to lack of sanitation, safe water, and improper hygiene. More than two billion people throughout the world live with unrelenting illness due to intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs). The purposes of this study are to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices on IPIs and investigate the relationship with prevalence of intestinal parasites among a low-income group of inhabitants from two communities of the Travessão District area, Campos dos Goytacazes, north of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The two communities are known as "Parque Santuário," which is an urban slum with miserable living conditions, and "Arraial," where the socioeconomic and educational levels are better, neither having a sanitary infrastructure with an excreta collection system. Questionnaires revealed that both communities had local and specific codification to denominate the intestinal parasites and present correct knowledge on the theme but ignored some aspects of IPI transmission, with the Arraial population being better informed (p < 0.05). The overall prevalence of IPIs in Parque Santuário (49.7%) was greater than in Arraial (27.2%) (p < 0.001; prevalence ratio/95% confidence interval 1.83/1.50-2.23). This study reports the real IPI situation in the Travessão District and also reinforces the need to continue the investigation on the impact of combined prophylactic methods, educational measures, and socioeconomic and sanitary improvements by governmental authorities and the local popular organization.

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are neglected diseases with limited data regarding prevalence in Brazil and many other countries. In increasingly urban societies, investigating the profile and socioenvironmental determinants of IPIs in the general population of slum dwellers is necessary for establishing appropriate public policies catered to these environments. This study assessed the socioenvironmental conditions and prevalence of IPIs in slums of Rio de Janeiro, RJ State, Brazil.MethodsA cross-sectional study covering an agglomeration of urban slums was conducted between 2015 and 2016 using participants observation, a socioeconomic survey, and the spontaneous sedimentation method with three slides per sample to analyze fresh stool specimens ( n =595) searching for intestinal parasites.Results Endolimax nana ( n =95, 16.0%) and Entamoeba coli ( n =65, 10.9%) were the most frequently identified agents, followed by Giardia intestinalis ( n =24, 4.0%) and Ascaris lumbricoides ( n =11, 1.8%). Coinfections caused by E. nana and E. histolytica/dispar and by Entamoeba coli/A. lumbricoides were significant. The use of piped water as drinking water, the presence of A. lumbricoides , and contamination with coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli were more common in major area (MA) 1. Children (0-19 years) had a greater chance of living in poverty (OR 3.36; 95% CI: 2.50- 4.52; p <0.001) which was pervasive. The predominance of protozoa parasites suggests that a one-size-fits-all approach focusing on preventive chemotherapy for soil-transmitted helminths is not appropriate for all communities in developing countries. It is important that both residents and health professionals consider the socioenvironmental conditions of urban slums when assessing intestinal parasitic infections for disease control and health promotion initiatives.

We carried out a cross-sectional study from January to December 2015 on 1,425 inhabitants from a floating population in the Brazilian Amazon (Murinin district, Pará State) to describe the population-based prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) from 2011 to 2014, recent TB contacts (rCts) latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (LTBI) , the coverage of the local health network, socio-environmental factors, and frequency of intestinal parasitic infection (IPI). We found that the sanitary structure was inadequate, with latrines being shared with other rooms within the same accommodation; well water was the main source of water, and 48% of families had low incomes. The average rate of TB was 105/100, 000 inhabitants per year; one third of TB patients had been household contacts of infected individuals in the past, and 23% of rCts were LTBI. More than half (65%) of 44% of the stools examined (representing 76% of the housing) had IPIs; the highest prevalence was of fecal-oral transmitted protozoa (40%, Giardia intestinalis ), followed by soil-transmitted helminths (23%). TB transmission may be related to insufficient disease control of rCts, frequent relocation, and underreporting. Education, adopting hygienic habits, improving sanitation, provision of a treated water supply and efficient sewage system, further comprehensive epidemiological surveillance of those who enter and leave the community and resources for basic treatment of IPIs are crucial in combating the transmission of these neglected diseases.

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Introduction The drought in the Brazilian semiarid region has affected the quality of water. This study assessed the relationships between enteric parasitoses, water management, and water quality, correlating them with pluviometric seasonality. Methods Cross-sectional surveys were carried out in four rural communities at the beginning of the dry season (n=151), at the end of the dry season (n=184), and in the rainy season (n=199), in order to collect sociodemographic data, human fecal samples, and samples of the water used for human consumption for physicochemical and microbiological analyses. In 2015, water filters were provided to 30 households under study. Results There was an increasing trend in detection rates of commensal protozoa and the Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar complex at the beginning of the rainy season, with detection rates of 6% in 2014 and 21.6% in 2016. Giardia intestinalis and Ascaris lumbricoides presented distinct temporal distributions, which peaked in 2015: 20.1% and 30%, respectively. The proportion of inhabitants drinking inadequate water was 55% at the beginning of the dry season and 28.8% at the end of the dry season, reaching 70.9% at the beginning of the rainy season. The presence of filters reduced this proportion among those who received the hollow ceramic candle filter. Conclusions Data suggest that the strategies to increase water supply in the Brazilian semiarid region can be ameliorated in order to improve the quality of drinking water.

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Rhynchophorus palmarum, the palm weevil, has been reported as a pest of palms and sugarcane plants. The Red Ring Disease is an infectious plant disease caused by nematodes. The etiological agent, Bursaphelencus (Rhadinaphelencus) cocophilus (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae), completes its life cycle within 9 to 10 days inside the palm tree. The main symptom is a permanent wilting of the plant aerial parts. Previous studies stated that B. cocophilus cohabits with other nematodes the gut of R. palmarum. The aim of this study is to identify nematodes collected from palm weevil found in coconut plantations from the north of the Rio de Janeiro State. Light (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were carried on samples of infected R. palmarum and fragments and fresh juice of infected plants with B. cocophilus. Observations of R. palmarum fecal material made by LM and SEM showed three species cohabiting these samples, being also present in fresh juice and fragments of infected coconut tree: B. cocophilus, Teratorhabditis palmarum (Nematoda: Rhabditidae) and Diplogasteritus sp (Nematoda: Diplogasteridae). These findings confirm previous studies, which related that R. palmarum own a varied nematode fauna. Nematodes associated to B. cocophilus probably could be co-participates of the etiology of the Red Ring disease.