Frequency of geohelminths in public squares in Pelotas, RS, Brazil

Abstract

The frequency of parasitic contamination of public areas in the municipality of Pelotas, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, was studied between June 2010 and May 2011, when soil samples were collected from eight city squares. Out of 400 samples submitted to centrifugal floatation technique in solution of sodium dichromate with density of 1.35, 176 (44%) proved positive for at least one parasite; 29 (16.5%) samples were multi-infested. The results showed that there was a significant soil contamination rate in all the parks included in the study. The positivity rate was higher for hookworms eggs (13.5%) and Toxocara eggs (8.8%); Trichuris, Ascaris and Capillaria eggs were also detected. This study shows the risks to which the population is exposed in relation to zoonotic geohelminths, and suggests that sanitation and health education measures should be implemented in the municipality.Keywords: Helminths, environmental contamination, Toxocara, hookworms, eggs. ResumoA frequência de contaminação parasitária de áreas públicas de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, foi avaliada entre junho de 2010 e maio de 2011, com coletas mensais de amostras de solo de oito praças. Das 400 amostras submetidas à técnica de centrífugo-flutuação em solução de dicromato de sódio com densidade de 1,35, 176 (44%) apresentaram pelo menos uma forma parasitária e, das amostras positivas, 29 (16,5%) estavam poliparasitadas. Os resultados demonstraram relevante índice de contaminação do solo em todas as praças avaliadas, com maiores índices de positividade para ovos de ancilostomídeos (13,5%) e ovos de Toxocara (8,8%), sendo também identificados ovos de Trichuris, Ascaris e Capillaria. O estudo demonstrou a contaminação ambiental de praças públicas e os riscos a que a população está exposta em relação a doenças causadas por geoparasitos zoonóticos e sugere que medidas de saneamento e educação em saúde devem ser implementadas no município.Palavras-chave: Helmintos, contaminação ambiental, Toxocara, Ancilostomídeos, ovos. PEREIRA et al., 2010). Contamination of public parks by dog, cat and even human feces is a public health hazard due to the possibility of disease transmission, among which visceral larva migrans, cutaneous larva migrans, ascariasis, trichuriasis and other helminth diseases transmitted by contact with either contaminated soil or contaminated food WILKINS, 2009;BOWMAN et al., 2010).In many Brazilian cities, as well as in those in other emerging countries, a large dog population runs at large on the streets and public parks, together with many animals that are brought by owners (GUIMARÃES et al., 2005;NEVES;MASSARA, 2009;GALLINA et al., 2011). Dogs defecate in these places, thus contaminating the soil, onto which they can eliminate thousands of helminth eggs per gram of feces. These eggs, because of the consistency of their outer cuticle, remain viable in the environment for long periods, thus exposing the human population, especially children, to the risk of infection and development of parasitic diseases (SANTARÉM et ...

Environmental contamination by parasitic forms in a socially vulnerable community in southern Rio Grande do Sul state: a serious public health problem

“…eggs in 8.19% of samples is like that of other soil studies developed in Pelotas, which also observed the presence of this parasite in 14.7% to 3% of the samples analyzed (TAVARES et al, 2008;VILLELA et al, 2009;MOURA et al, 2013), making the presence of this helminth in the municipality important. Trichuris vulpis is a ubiquitous parasite with high infection rates in domiciled and non-domiciled animals (TRAVERSA, 2011).…”

“…eggs were less frequent compared to other studies carried out in the municipality of Pelotas, where Villela et al (2009) observed 24.1% of positive samples on the banks of Laguna dos Patos. Gallina et al (2011) demonstrated it was the most frequent parasite egg (62%) in the soil samples of a University Campus, while Moura et al (2013) found that it was the second most observed parasite in public areas, confirming the presence in 8.8% of the samples analyzed. Eggs of Toxocara spp.…”

Intestinal parasites in cancer patients in the South of Brazil

“…Infection by A. lumbricoides associated with other immunosuppressive diseases has been described in other studies and may be related to a wide prevalence of this helminth in humans around the world (Lau et al, 2007;Brum et al, 2013). It is worth mentioning that eggs of this helminth have been found in public parks within city limits, which is suggestive of a considerable risk of infection and its high prevalence among the local human population (Moura et al, 2013).…”

Prevalence of and risk factors for intestinal parasite infections in pediatric patients admitted to public hospitals in Southern Brazil

“…Environmental contamination by these parasites has been detected in the City of Pelotas, both in student environments 9 and in the public square 10 . Therefore, children may be exposed to environments that favor parasitic infection as the eggs of these nematodes are common environmental contaminants and present high resistance under different climatic conditions.…”