Parasitosis in the population assisted at the Hospital Interzonal General de Agudos “Evita”, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Current situation

Abstract

Parasitic diseases continue to be a serious public health problem, being closely related both to the age of the patient and public health. Therefore, the incidence and prevalence of parasitosis have been taken as indicators of the health status of the population in different contexts. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of parasitosis in samples sent to the hospital (Hospital Interzonal General de Agudos “Evita”, Buenos Aires, Argentina) from January 2015 to June 2016, according to the age group and frequency and type of intestinal and non-intestinal parasites.
A retrospective study of the population assisted at our institution was made, using the records of samples processed at the Parasitology Department. A total of 188 of the 413 fecal samples studied were positive. 
The distribution by age group was: 1 - 11 years old: 132, 12 - 16 years old: 18, older than 16: 38. The type and frequency of parasites were Blastocystis spp.: 95, Giardia lamblia: 53, Enterobius vermularis: 45, Dientamoeba fragilis: 23, Entamoeba coli: 14, Ascaris lumbricoides: 11, Endolimax nana: 8, Entamoeba Histolytica / dispar: 3, Cryptosporidium spp.: 3, and Strongyloides stercoralis: 1. The determination of the anti Toxocara canis / cati antibody was as follows: 1 - 16 years old: 17 Reactive and 5 Non-Reactive; older than 16: 3 Reactive and 3 Non-Reactive. All the samples were negative for Trypanosoma cruzi. Echinococcus spp hooks were observed in a sputum / vomit sample. Dermatobia hominis larvae were identified in two of the samples.