Strongyloides stercoralis and other enteroparasites in children at Uberlândia City, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

RESUMO

To evaluate the rate of infection by Strongyloides stercoralis and other enteroparasites a survey was conducted in the city of Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A total of 900 stool samples from 300 children aging from four months to seven years, randomly selected in ten nursery schools from September 1994 to December 1995, were examined, both by the Baermann-Moraes and Lutz methods. Thirty nine children (13 per cent) were found to be infected by S. stercoralis, 64 per cent were boys and 35.9 per cent were girls. Taking all the enteroparasites as a whole the results of the survey pointed out that 265 (88.4 per cent) of the 300 children were infected by the following Giardia lamblia, 78,3 per cent; Ascaris lumbricoides, 15.3 per cent; S. stercoralis, 13 per cent; Hymenolepis nana, 6.7 per cent; hookworms, 6 per cent; Enterobius vermicularis, 4 per cent; Hymenolepis diminuta, 4 per cent and Trichuris trichiura, 0.7 per cent. From 265 infected children 64.5 per cent were mono-infected, 27.2 per cent were infected by two parasites and 8.3 per cent had a poly-specific parasite burden. It was concluded that strongyloidiasis is hyperendemic in this area.