Enteric parasitic disease in children under 5 years of age, indigenous and non-indigenous, from rural communities in Paraguay

Abstract

Official figures of mortality in children under five years of age in the Americas, report that infectious and parasitic diseases caused most of the deaths. To evaluate the frequency of intestinal parasites in vulnerable children, indigenous and non-indigenous, and their socio-environmental characteristics. We evaluated 247 children under five years of age, of both sexes. Descriptive study with an analytical component, transverse cutting. Copro-parasitological examinations were carried out and semi-structured interviews to collect socio-demographic data were conducted. The frequency of intestinal parasitic diseases was 56.1% and 35.5% in indigenous and non-indigenous children, respectively. In both populations, the most common pathogens were Blastocystis hominis and Giardia lamblia. We found a high frequency of parasitism in indigenous children at the expense of protozoa. Non-indigenous children still present the same parasitic species found in previous studies, suggesting the need to implement more control and prevention. The poor conditions in which they live favor the development of these diseases.