Abstract
Human populations living in the surrounding urban areas of large Brazilian cities have increased vulnerability to intestinal parasites. However, the epidemiological scenario of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) in Curitiba, Paraná’s main city, remains largely unknown. To bridge this gap of knowledge, this study aims to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and to investigate potential transmission pathways of the most prevalent species detected. We conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological study between July and September 2014 among schoolchildren in urban and peri-urban (deprived) areas of the municipality of Campo do Tenente, Curitiba. A total of 549 stool samples were used for coproparasitological diagnosis. Microscopy-positive samples of the most common species found were re-assessed by PCR and sequencing methods at the small subunit rRNA gene. Prevalence of infection by any given enteroparasite was 24.8%, but soil-transmitted helminths were only detected in 3.5% of the examined samples. Frequency of protozoan infections reached 90% and 97.8% in single and multiple infections, respectively. Blastocystis sp. (38.9%) was the most frequently species found in the surveyed schoolchildren population. A total of 41 Blastocystis-positive samples were unambiguously typed as ST1 (36.4%), ST2 (21.2%), ST3 (39.4%), and ST1 + ST3 mixed infection (3.0%). These results indicate that Blastocystis transmission is primarily anthroponotic in origin. This data highlights the importance of maintaining the anthelminthic control programs currently in place and of improving sanitary disposal of human excreta in poor-resource settings.
Highlights
Infections by intestinal protozoan and helminth species are among the most prevalent parasitic diseases in tropical and subtropical developing countries, where they constitute a major public health issue and socio-economic concern
Epidemiological surveys targeting different human populations are highly needed in developing countries to estimate the actual status of intestinal parasitic infections in order to allow the implementation of appropriate control measures, or to evaluate the impact of ongoing programs for parasite control
We described the presence of three Blastocystis subtypes (ST1e3), with ST3 (39.4%) and ST1 (36.4%) being the most prevalent ones
Summary
Infections by intestinal protozoan and helminth species are among the most prevalent parasitic diseases in tropical and subtropical developing countries, where they constitute a major public health issue and socio-economic concern (WHO, C.Y. Oishi et al / Parasite Epidemiology and Control 7 (2019) e00115. Transmission typically follows the faecal-oral route, either directly (e.g. person-to person or animal-to-person contact) or indirectly through ingestion of contaminated food, water or fomites (Corrales et al, 2006). In this regard, preventive and control measures against cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis or even blastocystosis should be emphasized (Henriques Coelho et al, 2017; Valença Barbosa et al, 2017)
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