Control of parasitic infections among school children in the peri-urban area of Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The prevalence of intestinal parasitosis was investigated in a primary school located in Rubião Júnior, a peri-urban district of Botucatu, São Paulo state, Brazil, in order to assess the effect of treatment and practical measures of prophylaxis in the control of parasitic infections among 7-to-18-year-old school children of a low socio-economic status. The first series of parasitological examinations included 219 school children, of which 123 (56.1%) were found to be infected with one or more parasite species. Eighty-four children carrying pathogenic parasites were submitted to various anti-parasitic treatment schedules. We re-evaluated 75 (89%) students after 4 to 6 months post-chemotherapy. The results indicate that the combination of treatment with prophylactic measures has been successful in the control of parasitic infections, since reinfection rates were generally low (< or = 5.3%), except for Giardia lamblia infections (18.6%), and a marked reduction on the prevalence rates was observed with a significant percentage of cure (> or = 73.1%) in children infected with most parasite species. The reasons for the apparent failure in the control of infections caused by Hymenolepis nana and Strongyloides stercoralis are discussed.

Prevalência De Enteroparasitoses Em Crianças De Creches Do Município De Santo Ângelo, Rs

“…Segundo Fernandez (2006) em seu estudo com crianças de creches e escolas do município de Poços de Caldas-MG, a faixa etária mais afetada por protozoários encontra-se entre 2 e 10 anos. As crianças do sexo masculino apresentaram uma taxa de parasitose maior quando comparadas às crianças do sexo feminino, dado semelhante ao encontrado por Dórea et al (1996), que observaram uma maior __________________________________________________________________________________________ Editora Unijuí -Revista Contexto & Saúde, vol. 17, n. 32, 2017-ISSN 2176 prevalência de parasitoses no sexo masculino, sugerindo um maior contato com o solo em suas brincadeiras e menor frequência no uso de calçados.…”

Intestinal protozoa and helminths among Terena Indians in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul: high prevalence of Blastocystis hominis

“…This was also observed (for hookworms) by Miranda et al 20 , among indigenous men of the Tembé ethnic group. Although some studies have suggested that men have greater contact with infecting forms that are contained in the soil, new studies relating age groups to activity and sex should be conducted to clarify this question better 11 . We can highlight the precarious sanitary conditions in which the Terena Indians live as a contributory factor towards the high general prevalence observed in the Tereré settlement.…”

Prevalence of strongyloidiasis in Latin America: a systematic review of the literature

“…However, the relationship between soil contamination and intensity of infection in the human population was not analysed. A couple of studies analysed prevalence after treatment: Dorea et al [32] performed stool examination in primary school children at 4 and 6 months after treatment with thiabendazole (with 4•1% prevalence at time 0) and found 50% prevalence reduction. Heukelback et al [15] evaluated prevalence before and after 1 and 9 months from mass treatment with ivermectin (two doses given 10 days apart), finding a reduction from 11% to 0•6% and 0•7%, respectively.…”