ABSTRACT
Between may and july 2001, a survey was conducted in order to investigate the prevalence and symptoms of Enterobius vermicularis infection and its relationship with the socio-economic status and household crowding of 154 schoolchildren aged 6-12 years from a rural village in Falcon State, Venezuela. The Graham technique (perianal swabs with an adhesive cellulose tape) was used to perform the parasitological diagnosis. The overall prevalence was high (57.79). There was no difference in the prevalence between sexes (X2 = 0.005; d.f. = 1) or ages (X2 = 3.63; d.f. = 6) (p > 0.05), suggesting similar risk conditions for all individuals. Anal pruritus was the most common clinical finding (53.9). Other less frequent manifestations were the following: perianal lesions (34.8) and vulvovaginitis (32.6). Graffar analysis revealed that the majority of schoolchildren belong to the poorer socioeconomic strata: IV (55.9) and V (29.87), with overcrowded living conditions. The correlation between E. vermicularis infection and crowding rates was found to be statistically significant (r = 0.98; p < 0.001). In the light on these results, it can be concluded that poverty, overcrowding, anal pruritus, scarcity of water, inadequate personal and community hygiene play a relevant role on the transmission dynamics and endemic maintenance of enterobiasis among schoolchildren from Sabaneta.