Evaluation of intestinal parasitic infections prevalence and nutritional status of school children from a peri-urban area of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

The high prevalence of intestinal parasites in underdeveloped countries is mainly due to poor sanitary conditions and to the low level of education of the population. The present study evaluated the prevalence of intestinal parasites and the nutritional status of children attending a school located in Valeria, a peri-urban borough of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Parasitological tests were performed using the Hoffman-Pons-Janer method. Nutritional status was evaluated according to the Waterlow
classification, using the standard curve recommended by the National Center of Health Statistics. A 94% prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection was found, with children between 6 and 9 years old being the most affected age group. The parasites with higher frequencies were Entamoeba coli (43.5%), Ascaris lumbricoides (25%), Endolimax nana (22%), and Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar (21.5%). In relation to concurrent infections with multiple parasites in infected children, 39% had one parasite species, 33% had two parasite species, and 22% had multiple parasites. The nutritional status evaluation of 147 students, ranging in age from 6 to 10 years, revealed that 15% displayed nutritional deficits. However, there was no positive correlation between parasitized children and nutritional deficit due to the high frequency of parasitized (78.9%) among nourished children. The present study confirmed the high prevalence of intestinal parasites and malnutrition among school
children in a low income population, highlighting the importance of health education programs to avoid parasitic infections and improve the nutritional status of children.