SUMMARYThe aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of intestinal parasites in a quilombola community from the northern Espírito Santo, Brazil. Descendants of slaves who arrived in Brazil in the sixteenth century, this population settled in the municipality of São Mateus in 1858. Fresh fecal samples from 82 individuals who agreed to participate in the study were collected between August 2009 and July 2010, and immediately sent to the Clinical Laboratory of the Centro Universitário Norte do Espírito Santo of the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo for analysis. Out of all the participants, 36 (43.9%) were male and 46 (56.1%) were female, whose ages ranged from six to 85 years. The study of the occurrence of intestinal parasites indicated that 35 individuals (42.7%) were infected with at least one intestinal parasite. Among helminths, the most frequent were hookworms, with a rate of 14.6%. With regard to protozoa, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar and Endolimax nana stood out, with frequencies of 23.2%, 8.5% and 4.9%, respectively. The occurrence of biparasitism was observed in 13 of the 82 subjects, accounting for 15.8%, and no cases of multiple parasitic infections were observed. It was concluded that the reduction of cases of intestinal diseases due to parasites will only be achieved with the improvement of basic sanitation and quality of life of quilombola populations.

It is estimated that Schistosoma mansoni is present in 19 Brazilian states and one of the factors responsible for the spread of schistosomiasis is the migration of individuals from endemic areas, particularly from northeastern Brazil. In the municipality of Conceição da Barra, northern state of Espírito Santo, the present study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of schistosomiasis among sugarcane cutting workers in the alcohol industry, who migrated from the northeastern region of the country. For the diagnosis of intestinal parasites, spontaneous sedimentation and Kato-Katz techniques were used. Of the 287 individuals analyzed, 45 (15.7%), from the states of Alagoas, Pernambuco and Bahia, were positive for S. mansoni. Of the total positive individuals, 38 (84.4%) were from the state of Alagoas, 6 (13.3%) from Pernambuco and 1 (2.2%) from Bahia. The results indicate the possibility of schistosomiasis expansion in the northern state of Espírito Santo.

Intestinal parasites are often associated with morbidities caused to the general population. School children are a major risk group for parasitic infections due to their higher susceptibility and higher degree of exposure to primary sources. Objective: Verify the prevalence of intestinal parasites in children enrolled in Early Childhood Education Centers (CEIM) of São Mateus, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Methodology: Between the months of February 2010 and April 2013, fecal samples were collected from children aged between 1 and 6 years enrolled in CEIM of the city of São Mateus. Prior to the collection and in all CEIM, a lecture to parents/guardians and staff was held in order to clarify the research objectives, to guide on how to collect and store samples and signed the informed consent term. Once collected, the samples were sent to and processed in the Clinical Laboratory of the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo by the spontaneous sedimentation method, and the sediment was examined in triplicate, after staining with lugol. Results: From a total of 378 samples analyzed in 10 CEIM, 137 (36.2%) were positive for various parasitic forms: Giardia lamblia 18.2%, Entamoeba coli 11.1%; E. histolytica/E. dispar 9.0%, Ascaris lumbricoides 5.0%, Hookworm 3.4%, Trichuris trichiura 1.8%, Endolimax nana 2.4%, Enterobius vermicularis 1.6%; Iodamoeba butschli and Hymenolepis nana with 0.3% each. Conclusion: The results showed high prevalence of intestinal parasites, in particular G. lamblia, indicating the need for implementation of preventive, sanitary and educative measures in CEIM, with the participation of the entire school community and parents.

Dentre os inúmeros gêneros de plantas que apresentam atividades biológicos, encontra-se o gênero Aristolochia. Alguns estudos demonstram que apesar de apresentar toxicidade em humanos, alguns espécies são frequentemente utilizadas no tratamento de câncer, utilizando folhas e raízes. O objetivo deste artigo foi realizar um levantamento bibliográfico nas bases de dados referente aos registros etnobotânicos, de espécies do gênero Aristolochia spp em diversas regiões do mundo. Trata-se de um artigo de revisão, de caráter integrativo, cuja coleta de informações foi obtida através de produções científicas, publicadas no período de 2010 a 2020, nas bases de dados Lilacs, Scielo, Medline; utilizando-se os seguintes termos dos Descritores em Ciências da Saúde (DeCS): aristolochia and (extracts or phytotherapy or plants, medicinal or medicine, traditional or plants or ethobotany or therapeutic use or botany or neoplasms). Foram obtidos os seguintes resultados: Pubmed: 672artigos; Lilacs: 24; Scielo: 25 e Medline: 535, perfazendo um total de 1256 artigos, sendo que destes, 518 estavam duplicados e foram rejeitados, restando apenas 738. Após análise criteriosa dos títulos e resumos de cada estudo, deste total, apenas 10, preenchiam os critérios de inclusão para o objetivo proposto. Foi possível identificar um déficit nas produções científicas diante do atual número de espécies do gênero Aristolochia spp. Ainda, apesar de haver informações toxicológicas semelhantes, há casos em que subnotifica ou não informa as reações adversas.