Resumen

RECALDE, Dalila et al. Prevalence of intestinal parasitosis in children in schools located in vulnerable neighborhoods of the metropolitan area of the Central Department, Paraguay, 2023-2024. Mem. Inst. Investig. Cienc. Salud [online]. 2025, vol.23, n.1, e23122501.  Epub 15-Abr-2025. ISSN 1812-9528.  https://doi.org/10.18004/mem.iics/1812-9528/2025.e23122501.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), intestinal parasitosis occurs mainly in underdeveloped countries, with a greater impact on school-age children. They are closely related to poverty and the most disadvantaged social groups. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in children from poor neighborhoods in the Central Department of Paraguay in 2023 and 2024. Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, non-probabilistic convenience sampling study, reaching a total of 167 children in the neighborhoods ¨San Francisco¨ from Asunción and ¨San Blas¨ from Mariano Roque Alonso. Direct observation of fresh stool material, the modified Ritchie technique and the spontaneous sedimentation technique were used. From the coproparasitological analysis, 69 samples (41%) were positive for intestinal parasite findings, 25 of them (36%) were pathogenic parasites and 44 (64%) were commensal parasites. Giardia lamblia (30%) and Blastocystis hominis (27.5%) were the most prevalent. The data obtained show a lower prevalence of intestinal parasitosis in comparison with previous data from other studies carried out at national level, nevertheless we cannot assert a decrease in the prevalence of intestinal parasitosis in the child population, due the absence of prevalence studies from previous years in the same population. National statistics are needed to evaluate an improvement in health conditions such as access to drinking water, as well as the effectiveness of deworming campaigns promoted by an institutional entity.

Palabras clave : Parasitic disease; helminthiasis; protozoans; children; Paraguay.

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