title: [Prevalence of intestinal helminths in three regions of Minas Gerais State].
abstract: A parasitological assay of feces, through the Kato-Katz method, was undertaken in 18,973 schoolchildren (7 to 14 years old), at primary school level, from a public school of the State of Minas Gerais. Three mesoregions were studied: Tri ngulo Mineiro/ Alto Para ba ( 60 municipalities); northwest Minas Gerais (13) and south/south-west regions of Minas Gerais (144). Among the examined children, 15,545 (82%) were negative; 2,863 (15%) were infected with a single species of helminthes and 565 (3%) were infected by more than one species. The prevalence rates were: A. lumbricoides 10.3%; T. trichiura 4.7%; hookworm 2.9%; E. vermicularis 1.2%; H. nana 0.4% and Taenia sp 0.2%. The largest helminthes prevalence/mesoregion were for T. trichiura (24.2%) and A. lumbricoides (18.7%) in the south/south-west region; hookworm (12.1%) and Taenia sp (0.7%) in the northwest region of Minas Gerais. Intestinal helminthiasis is still regarded as a serious public health problem, including regions where the socio-economic conditions are more favorable.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Helmintoses Intestinais, Centro de Pesquisas Ren Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. omar@cpqrr.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Omar dos Santos
authors.initials: Odos S
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Henrique Leonardo
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: Yoná Rose
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Roberta Lima
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Caldeira
authors.forename: Cristiano Lara
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Massara
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution