Prevalence of intestinal parasites in children from public daycare centers in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The objective of this study was to verify the occurrence of intestinal parasites in 3 to 6-year-old children from daycare centers maintained by the municipal government of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Coproparasitological tests performed in 472 children have shown that 24.6% of them had some type of parasites, 6.6% of the children having more than one type. Among protozoa, Entamoeba coli (14.0%) and G. duodenalis (9.5%) were the most prevalent, whereas Ascaris lumbricoides (3.0%) and Trichuris trichiura (1.1%) were the most frequent among the helminths. Thus, we can observe that intestinal parasites still represent a serious public health problem in Belo Horizonte, especially among children and in areas where the socioeconomic conditions are less favorable.
Menezes
Aline L
AL
Laboratório de Amebíase, Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Lima
Vítor M P
VM
Freitas
Mayrce T S
MT
Rocha
Míriam O
MO
Silva
Edward F
EF
Dolabella
Silvio S
SS
D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017150:Public Sector