Enteroparasite contamination in peridomiciliar soils of two indigenous territories, State of Paraná, southern Brazil.
OBJECTIVE
To determine 1) the degree of soil contamination by parasites; 2) the prevalence of contaminated samples; 3) the overall number of parasitic forms, by distance between the collection site and the domicile; 4) the mean number of parasite forms per peri-household area; and 5) the variables associated with the total number of parasite forms.


METHODS
Soil samples were collected in the peridomicile of 18 (out of a total sample of 63) and 22 (out of 190) residences of the Faxinal and Ivaí indigenous territories (ITs), respectively, from March 2005 through October 2006, and evaluated by the methods of Baermann, modified Faust et al., and Lutz.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence of samples contaminated by enteroparasites of humans or of animals with zoonotic potential was 75.7% (84 out of 111) in Faxinal and 96.2% (127 out of 132) in Ivaí. The most prevalent parasites were Ascaris spp., Isospora spp., and Toxocara spp. Positive statistical associations were observed between the number of parasitic forms per domicile and the following variables: time of year (season), the presence of bathrooms in the domicile, and the presence of excrement on peridomiciliar soil.


CONCLUSIONS
The high level of soil contamination in Faxinal and Ivaí 1) constitutes a potential source of parasitic infection and 2) suggests that the treatment of human and animal excreta continues to be inadequate.
Moura
Fabiana de Toledo
Fde T
Departamento de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná 87020-900, Brazil. mjotoledo@uem.br
Falavigna
Dina Lúcia Moraes
DL
Mota
Lúcio Tadeu
LT
Toledo
Max Jean de Ornelas
MJ
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000469:parasitology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D007199:Indians, South American; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary; D010271:Parasites / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010273:Parasitic Diseases, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D015995:Prevalence; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D012498:Sanitary Engineering; D012988:Soil Microbiology