Clinical status and parasitic infection in a Wichi Aboriginal community in Salta,Argentina

Abstract

In a study, carried out in 2000, of the clinical and parasitological status of a Wichi Aboriginal community living in the suburbs of Tartagal, northern Salta, Argentina, 154 individuals were screened for parasitic infections. Ninety-five faecal samples were also obtained from the same population. Ninety-three percent of the subjects were positive for 1 or more of the parasites investigated by direct test and 70.5% of them had parasitic superinfection. The most frequent helminths were Strongyloides stercoralis (50.5%) and hookworm (47.4%). We found low reinfection rates and a long reinfection period after treatment and provision of safe water and sanitation. Serum reactivity of these patients was analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect immunofluorescent assay and 22.1% of them had anti-Toxocara antibodies, 16.2% were positive for a complex antigen of Leishmania braziliensis, 29.9% were positive for a complex Trypanosoma cruzi antigen, and 17.5% were positive for a specific Trypanosoma cruzi antigen, Ag 163B6/cruzipain.

Urban Transmission of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Argentina: Spatial Analysis Study

“…During 1995-2007, the spatial scan statistic identified 11 clusters of ACL in men along the eastern border of the city that reached the northern city limit. These clusters had ORs ranging from 1.42 to 3.20, and three had a radius equal to zero (clusters [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Because each identified case uses its respective neighborhood centroid as a reference point, a cluster of zero radius indicates that a specific neighborhood is a cluster in itself.…”

“…9 Within the province of Salta, the Orán and San Martin jurisdictions have been affected by ACL outbreaks, and rural zones of Orán have exhibited endemic and epidemic transmission levels. [10][11][12] Furthermore, these localities are characterized by the production of sugar cane, banana, citrus fruits, and green vegetables, which are grown in plantations where rodent plagues are common. These rodents include Akodon sp.…”

Improved Diagnosis of Strongyloides stercoralis Using Recombinant Antigen-Based Serologies in a Community-Wide Study in Northern Argentina

“…The primary objective of this study was to assess the utility of newer serological techniques for Strongyloides stercoralis in estimating the true prevalence of infection in communities in Argentina in which the infection is highly endemic. In so doing, we were also able to provide background information on demographic, clinical, and laboratory features of individuals with parasitologically proven S. stercoralis infection in such communities, where prevalences of strongyloidiasis of 50% in the general population and 83% in children have been reported (27,28), and in Western Australia, where the prevalence ranged from 0.26 to 60% (12). Taken together, the data could enable decisions regarding the need for mass chemotherapy.…”

Related factors to human toxocariasis in a rural community of Argentina

“…In Argentina there have been varying seroprevalences: Taranto et al (2003), for example, found 22.1% in aborigines from the north of the province of Salta, and Radman et al (2000) reported a 39% in children attending clinics and hospitals.…”