Intestinal parasitosis, undernutrition and socio-environmental factors in schoolchildren from Clorinda Formosa, Argentina

Abstract

Objective To evaluate intestinal parasitosis, undernutrition and socio-environmental factors in schoolchildren from Clorinda (Formosa, Argentina).Materials and Methods Serial fecal samples and anal swabs of 114 schoolchildren, canine feces and soil samples were analyzed. Body weight and height of 215 schoolchildren were measured and undernutrition was estimated according to the World Health Organization criteria. Socio-environmental variables were assessed by means of a semi-structured questionnaire.Results 78.1% of children were infected by at least one of the 12 species identified and 70.8% had multiple parasitic infections. Blastocystis sp., Giardia lamblia and Enterobius vermicularis were the most prevalent. Additionally, 17.5% of children were infected by at least one geohelminth (e.g. Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, hookworms). 64.3%of canine of canine feces were positive and six parasitic species were found; the most frequent were Ancylostoma caninum, Uncinaria stenocephala and G. lamblia. Furthermore, 37.5% of soil samples showed zoonotic parasites (i.e. Ascaris sp., Toxocara sp.). Finally, 10.0% of the children were undernourished and 85.7% of them had parasites. The risk for parasitosis was higher in children that lived in houses with inadequate solid waste disposal and whose parents were unemployed or had temporary jobs.Conclusions The lack of environmental sanitation, unstable employment of parents and the presence of zoonotic species were the most relevant factors observed. Consequently, these conditions result in an increase of parasitic infections and negatively influence the growth of children.

Intestinal Parasite Infection and Its Association with Undernutrition among Early Adolescents in Hawassa University Technology Village, Southern Ethiopia

“…Advances in Public Health [27,37,39], the Philippines [42], and Bangladesh [41], the prevalence of thinness in the present study was low. In contrast to our findings, a low prevalence of thinness was also reported from Ethiopia [23,36] and Argentina [34]. ese reported differences of thinness could be associated with variation in the socioeconomic level, access to food of the family of the target students, time of the study, and methods used in the study.…”

“…is 4 Advances in Public Health finding was consistent with other studies from Ethiopia [30] and Brazil [31]. e present study presented a lower prevalence of IPI compared to previous studies conducted in different parts of Ethiopia [11,[21][22][23][25][26][27], India (36%) [32], Nigeria (78.1%) [33], Argentina (78.1%) [34], Sudan (87.2%) [24], and Colombia (100%) [35]. ese differences Assessing the nutritional status of adolescents is essential to improve their health.…”

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites among the Malnourished Children in Enugu, Nigeria

“…Gender was not found to be a significant risk factor, both sexes were equally exposed P>0.05. This aligns with the work done in Osun State Nigeria, in Malaysia, and in Cameroun [1,2,31] but at variance with what was reported in Abeokuta, southwest Nigeria and in Ebenebe, Anambra southeast Nigeria [32,33] that reported a significant difference in boys. Significant difference in girls was reported in Oshodi Lagos, southwest Nigeria [5].…”

Estado nutricional y condiciones de vida de niños y jóvenes rurales de Tucumán, Argentina

“…Algunos autores han referido como "condición natural" del medio rural, a la dificultad en el acceso a servicios públicos, como agua potable, y a las deficiencias de materiales constructivos de viviendas o sanitarios 41,10 . Sin embargo, no puede soslayarse que estas condiciones representan mayor exposición a agentes patógenos hasta llegar a favorecer las enteroparasitosis 20 .…”

“…Al respecto, se ha observado que los entornos rurales configuran un contexto de menor calidad socioambiental para el crecimiento infantil 16,17 . Esto se materializa en menores oportunidades de educación y trabajo; mayores niveles de inseguridad alimentaria determinada por la baja disponibilidad de alimentos, y mayores precios en relación a los escasos ingresos 18 ; menor acceso a servicios esenciales como agua potable 19 y a red de desagües cloacales para la eliminación de excretas 20 ; ambientes que se vinculan a mayor exposición a enteroparásitos 21,22 .…”