Intestinal parasites in a quilombola community of the Northern State of Espírito Santo, Brazil

Abstract

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.

Intestinal parasite infections in a rural community of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil): Prevalence and genetic diversity of Blastocystis subtypes

“…People from rural communities usually eat fresh food, drink untreated water and disposal of sewage is generally inadequate [ 50 ], resulting in increased infection risk. The diversity of protist parasites reveled by our analyses suggest that their distribution depends on factors such as environmental conditions, lack of sanitation and health education, confirming previous studies in rural communities [ 51 , 52 ]. It was shown that short-term xenic in vitro culture (XIVC) is a more sensitive diagnostic method than parasitological examination [ 53 ].…”

Abastecimento de água, esgotamento doméstico e aspectos de saúde em comunidades Quilombolas no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul

“…Existem vários estudos que relatam os diferentes pos de problemas de saúde que os moradores enfrentam, com protozooses e helmin ases (AMORIM et al, 2013;DAMAZIO et al, 2013), além de anemia e hipertensão, resultados de má alimentação (SILVA, 2014) e de riscos associados à segurança alimentar (CORDEIRO; MONEGO;MARTINS, 2014). Além disso, já foi observado em uma comunidade quilombola no Estado da Bahia que os membros avaliam como "ruim" a qualidade de vida e a condição de di cil acesso aos serviços de saúde (SANTOS et al, 2014).…”

Identification of enteroparasites in recreation areas of elementary schools in Northern Espírito Santo, Brazil

“…in Northern Espírito Santo, Brazil E nteric protozoan and helminth infections are among the most frequent health problems worldwide (1,2). Even with scientific and technological advances over the years, intestinal parasitism remains a serious public health problem, especially in underdeveloped or developing countries (3)(4)(5).…”