Parasitosis y su relación con anemia y desnutrición en niños de 5 a 9 años de la parroquia Quisapincha del cantón Ambato

Abstract

Intestinal parasites are the cause of most infections in humans, especially in school- age children, mainly affecting low-income communities in underdeveloped countries. These infections are caused by helminths and protozoa, most of which are transmitted by oral faecal transmission when contaminated food and water are ingested. The objective of this study was to determine parasitosis and its relationship with anaemia and malnutrition in children aged 5 to 9 years in the Quisapincha parish of Ambato. A total of 100 blood samples were analysed to determine haemoglobin levels and stool samples were analysed to identify the presence of parasites using the Faust or Zinc Sulphate Flotation technique. Information was collected by means of a survey together with anthropometric data for each child. Of the total population, 63% of the children were found to have parasites, 40% had monoparasitosis and 60% had polyparasitosis; 17% had commensal parasites, 83% had pathogenic parasites, 79% had protozoa and 21% had helminths. The parasites found were: Blastocystis sp.31 %, Entamoeba coli cyst 20% together with Endolimax nana cyst, Giardia lamblia cyst 7%, Entamoeba complex cyst 6%, Chilomastix mesnili cyst 2% together with Iodamoeba bütschlii cyst, Hymenolepis nana eggs 8%, Ascaris lumbricoides eggs 3%, Enterobius vermicularis adult 1%. The prevalence of parasites found in the study coincides with other studies carried out in Ecuador.