International Journal of Health Sciences

Parasites in South Bahia: Focus on Giardiasis and Ascariasis among Preschoolers of Itabuna
Ana Paula Melo Mariano, Esther Nascimento Santos, Talita Nogueira dos Santos, Tilson Nunes Mota, Juliana Almeida da Silva1, Silvia Maria Santos Carvalho, Marcelo Fernandes da Silva

Abstract
Intestinal parasites present close relationship with sanitary conditions water supply and hygiene habits which pose an important problem of public health with high prevalence among individuals with low socioeconomic status, especially in the younger population. In the present paper the authors performed the diagnostic of intestinal parasites in stool examination of children aged up to six years of age assisted by three public education facilities between September 2011 and July 2012 by using the new method of Mariano & Carvalho. Positivity observed for intestinal parasites reached 77.2 %, with rates ranging from 78.0 %, 72.3 and 84.2 % for the institution A, B and C respectively. Among the positive samples, there was higher frequency of contamination by protozoa (51.2 %), especially for Giardia lamblia (31.2 %). Among the helminthes, the most common were Ascaris lumbricoides (28.8 %) and Trichuris trichiura (17.6 %). The high prevalence of intestinal parasites, both protozoa and helminthes, was significantly associated with eating raw foods without proper hygiene. These results demonstrate the need for improved hygiene habits in parasitism prevention and adequate learning resources to teach preschoolers better habits of hygiene before the consumption of raw foods.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijhs.v3n1a4