Abstract
Intestinal parasites are important contributors to the global disease burden, especially in children of low-income countries. The present study determined the frequency of intestinal parasites in children hospitalized at the diarrhea section of the Infectious-Contagious Diseases ward and at the Malnutrition ward of the Department of Pediatrics of the Maputo Central Hospital in Mozambique. This pilot study conducted between February and March 2009 enrolled a total of 93 children between 1.5 and 48.2 months of age; 87.1% were younger than 24 months. Parasite detection in stool samples was achieved using direct microscopic observation and Ritchie's concentration technique. Infection with pathogenic intestinal parasites was detected in 16.1% (15/93) of the children. Giardia duodenalis and Trichuris trichiura were the most common parasites (6.5%, 6/93 each), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (2.2%, 2/93). One case of mixed infection with A. lumbricoides plus T. trichiura was also detected. This study reinforces the importance of routinely examining stool samples for the diagnosis of intestinal parasites (including protozoa) in children hospitalized in endemic areas.
Highlights
Intestinal parasites are important contributors to the global disease burden, especially in children of low-income countries
The aim of the present work was to investigate the frequency of intestinal parasites in children hospitalized in the diarrhea section of the InfectiousContagious Diseases ward (ICD) and in the Malnutrition (MN) ward of the Department of Pediatrics of the Maputo Central Hospital in Mozambique
Helminths were more frequent in the ICD ward, and protozoans were more frequent in the MN ward
Summary
Intestinal parasites are important contributors to the global disease burden, especially in children of low-income countries. A hospital-based study in a rural area of Mozambique, focusing on children under five years of age with diarrhea, detected a prevalence of 14.4% for intestinal parasites [7], while other surveys of intestinal parasites in school-aged children (non-hospitalized) revealed a much higher prevalence [8,9,10]. These data from Mozambique are in accordance with the results obtained in a study performed in Kenya (where hospitalized children under five years of age showed a 20.1% prevalence for intestinal parasites) [11], in Senegal (where 14% of children between one month and five years of age from a primary health care institution in an urban area had intestinal parasites) [12], and in Ethiopia (where 37.4% of students between 6 and 19 years of age had intestinal parasites) [13]
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