Abstract

BLANCO DELGADO, Karol Andrea  and  CALDERON ARGUEDAS, Olger. Perfil de parásitos y comensales entéricos de comunidades del cantón de Barva, Heredia, Costa Rica. Rev. costarric. salud pública [online]. 2007, vol.16, n.30, pp.27-31. ISSN 1409-1429.

The frequency of protozoa and helminths observed in the fecal samples of the patients who consulted in the laboratory of the Barva Health Area (also known as Coopesiba, R.L.), during the months of January to November of 2004 was analyzed. The presence of parasitic as well as commensal organisms was evidenced in the samples coming from all the different communities, showing a global prevalence of 41.2%. The communities of San Roque as well as the Central District of Barva were the ones which showed, in the analyses carried out, the highest (45.4%) and the lowest (35.0%) prevalences, respectively. The most frequent organisms were Blastocystis hominis with a global prevalence of 27.4%, Endolimax nana (16.5%) and Entamoeba coli (7.4%). The only helminthic organisms observed were Trichuris trichiura (0.03%) and Hymenolepis nana (0.1%). The parasite distribution in the communities of Barva was not homogeneous. The results showed relatively low prevalences of the organisms but suggest the existence of permissive conditions for transmission of enteric pathogens disseminated via the fecal route all of which emphasizes the need to stress preventive measures.

Keywords : Enteroparasites; intestinal protozoa; intestinal helminths; fecal smear; fecalism; Costa Rica.

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