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

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine parasitosis and its relationship with anaemia and malnutrition in children between 5 and 9 years of age in the Santa Rosa parish of the Ambato canton, The parasites that cause these infections are helminths and protozoa, most frequently transmitted via the oral-fecal route when contaminated water or food is ingested. For this research, 100 samples of blood and faeces belongingto children aged 5 to 9 years were analysed, the blood sample was used to determine haemoglobin and the faeces sample to determine the presence of parasites using the Faust Flotation or Zinc Sulphate technique. Information was collected through the use of surveys together with the anthropometric data of each child. Of the total population, 47% of the children were found to be parasitized, of which 57% were found to be monoparasitized, while 43% were found to be polyparasitized; 19% had commensal parasites, and 81% had pathogenic parasites; protozoa accounted for 100% and helminths were absent. The parasites found in the research are: Blastocystis sp. 63%, Entamoeba coli cyst 19%, Endolimax nana cyst 11%, Giardia lamblia cyst 4%, Entamoeba complex cyst 4%. The prevalence of parasites found in the study coincides with other studies carried out in Ecuador.