Poly-helminth infection in east guatemalan school children

Sörensen, William; Cappello, Michael; Bell, D. W.; DiFedele, Lisa; Brown, Mary

doi:10.4103/0974-777x.77292

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Along with high prevalence, we also found a high proportion of polyparasitism with almost half of those infected (44%) harbouring 2 or 3 helminths. This finding is consistent with the epidemiological profile of endemic countries [16], [39], [40], [41] and although already observed in Honduras [6], [42], [43], it has not received sufficient attention in the country. The impact of infections by multiple parasite species has been subject to some attention in the last decade [44] and studies show that concurrent infections may have additive or synergistic detrimental effects, especially in childhood [11], [45].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections and Nutritional Status in School-age Children from Rural Communities in Honduras

et al. 2013

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BackgroundSoil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are endemic in Honduras and efforts are underway to decrease their transmission. However, current evidence is lacking in regards to their prevalence, intensity and their impact on children's health.ObjectivesTo evaluate the prevalence and intensity of STH infections and their association with nutritional status in a sample of Honduran children.MethodologyA cross-sectional study was done among school-age children residing in rural communities in Honduras, in 2011. Demographic data was obtained, hemoglobin and protein concentrations were determined in blood samples and STH infections investigated in single-stool samples by Kato-Katz. Anthropometric measurements were taken to calculate height-for-age (HAZ), BMI-for-age (BAZ) and weight-for-age (WAZ) to determine stunting, thinness and underweight, respectively.ResultsAmong 320 children studied (48% girls, aged 7–14 years, mean 9.76±1.4) an overall STH prevalence of 72.5% was found. Children >10 years of age were generally more infected than 7–10 year-olds (p = 0.015). Prevalence was 30%, 67% and 16% for Ascaris, Trichuris and hookworms, respectively. Moderate-to-heavy infections as well as polyparasitism were common among the infected children (36% and 44%, respectively). Polyparasitism was four times more likely to occur in children attending schools with absent or annual deworming schedules than in pupils attending schools deworming twice a year (p<0.001). Stunting was observed in 5.6% of children and it was associated with increasing age. Also, 2.2% of studied children were thin, 1.3% underweight and 2.2% had anemia. Moderate-to-heavy infections and polyparasitism were significantly associated with decreased values in WAZ and marginally associated with decreased values in HAZ.ConclusionsSTH infections remain a public health concern in Honduras and despite current efforts were highly prevalent in the studied community. The role of multiparasite STH infections in undermining children's nutritional status warrants more research.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections and Nutritional Status in School-age Children from Rural Communities in Honduras

et al. 2013

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“…It was found that individuals with polyparasitic infection also harbor the most intense infections [8, 9]. Even low-intensity of polyparasitic infections may result in clinically significant morbidity [10, 11]. Therefore, polyparasitism may have a greater impact on morbidity than single species infection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intestinal polyparasitism with special emphasis to soil-transmitted helminths among residents around Gilgel Gibe Dam, Southwest Ethiopia: a community based survey

et al. 2016

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BackgroundOne third of the world population is estimated to be infected with intestinal parasites. The most affected people are children and the poor people living in tropics and subtropics. Polyparasitism (the concurrent infection with multiple intestinal parasite species) is found to be the norm among the same population although accurate estimate of its magnitude is unknown. It was found that polyparasitism might have a greater impact on morbidity than single species infection which might also increase susceptibility to other infections. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the prevalence and distribution of intestinal polyparasitism with special emphasis on Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) among residents around Gilgel Gibe dam located in Jimma zone of Oromia regional state, Ethiopia.MethodsA total of 1,021 participants were recruited in this study and provided stool samples for parasitological examination. Direct wet mount and Kato-Katz techniques were employed for stool examination. Pearson chi-square test was employed to assess the association of infection status and polyparasitism with gender and age group of the study participants.ResultsFive hundred thirty two individuals were infected with at least one parasite, providing the overall prevalence of 52.1%. Among positive individuals, 405 (76.1%), 114 (21.4%), and 13 (2.5%) individuals were infected with only one, two and three species of parasites, respectively. The overall prevalence of intestinal polyparasitism observed among the study participants was 12.4% (127/1,021). The predominant STH was hookworm, with a prevalence of 44.1%. Hookworm and Ascaris lumbricoides were the most frequently recorded combination in cases of polyparasitic infection. The study revealed that there was no significant difference in the distribution of polyparasitism with regard to age group and sex of the study participants (p > 0.05).ConclusionThe study indicated the presence of high prevalence of parasites as well as distribution of polyparasitism in the area. Moreover, the detection of Schistosoma mansoni in the community living within close proximity of the newly constructed dam would be taken as an indication of future risk factor. Further investigation on the predictors of polyparasitism and the assessment of effects of polyparasitism on the population are needed. Finally, there is a need to undertake integrated control strategies which involve improved sanitation, health education and chemotherapy that targets the whole community instead of only certain segments of populations.

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“…Molecular tools will therefore provide the basis to better understand the epidemiology of mixed helminth and protozoan infections. For example, the inability to identify hookworm species in the study by Sorensen et al [188] of gastrointestinal infections in Guatemalan children, leaves open questions about the potential of zoonotic transmission, if dogs are a reservoir of A. ceylanicum as in South East Asia (see above).…”

Section: Polyparasitismmentioning

confidence: 99%

The molecular epidemiology of parasite infections: Tools and applications

Lymbery

Thompson

2012

Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology

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Molecular epidemiology, broadly defined, is the application of molecular genetic techniques to the dynamics of disease in a population. In this review, we briefly describe molecular and analytical tools available for molecular epidemiological studies and then provide an overview of how they can be applied to better understand parasitic disease. A range of new molecular tools have been developed in recent years, allowing for the direct examination of parasites from clinical or environmental samples, and providing access to relatively cheap, rapid, high throughput molecular assays. At the same time, new analytical approaches, in particular those derived from coalescent theory, have been developed to provide more robust estimates of evolutionary processes and demographic parameters from multilocus, genotypic data. To date, the primary application of molecular epidemiology has been to provide specific and sensitive identification of parasites and to resolve taxonomic issues, particularly at the species level and below. Population genetic studies have also been used to determine the extent of genetic diversity among populations of parasites and the degree to which this diversity is associated with different host cycles or epidemiologically important phenotypes. Many of these studies have also shed new light on transmission cycles of parasites, particularly the extent to which zoonotic transmission occurs, and on the prevalence and importance of mixed infections with different parasite species or intraspecific variants (polyparasitism). A major challenge, and one which is now being addressed by an increasing number of studies, is to find and utilise genetic markers for complex traits of epidemiological significance, such as drug resistance, zoonotic potential and virulence.

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Poly-helminth infection in east guatemalan school children

Cited by 24 publications

References 19 publications

Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections and Nutritional Status in School-age Children from Rural Communities in Honduras

Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections and Nutritional Status in School-age Children from Rural Communities in Honduras

Intestinal polyparasitism with special emphasis to soil-transmitted helminths among residents around Gilgel Gibe Dam, Southwest Ethiopia: a community based survey

The molecular epidemiology of parasite infections: Tools and applications

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