| Abstract: | Intestinal parasites are a problem for public health all over the world. The
infection with Blastocystis, a protozoan of controversial
pathogenicity, is one of the most common among them all. In this study, the
occurrence of intestinal parasites, with emphasis on Blastocystis,
in patients at the Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro was investigated in
Uberaba (MG) through microscopy of direct smears and fecal concentrates using
Ritchie’s method. Feces of 1,323 patients were examined from April 2011 to May 2012.
In 28.7% of them at least one intestinal parasite was identified, and the most
frequent organisms were Blastocystis spp. (17.8%) and Giardia
intestinalis (7.4%). The occurrence of parasitism was higher in children aged 6 -10
years old, and the infection with Blastocystis spp. was higher above
the age of six (p < 0.001). The exclusive presence of G.
intestinalis and of Blastocystis spp. was observed in
5.4% and 12.2% of the patients, respectively. Regarding patients with diarrheic
feces, 8% revealed unique parasitism of Blastocystis spp. Other
intestinal parasites observed in children were Ascaris
lumbricoides(0.3%) and Entamoeba
histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii (1.4%). The Ritchie’s method was more
sensitive (92.8%) when compared to direct microscopy (89.8%), with high agreement
between them (97.7%, kappa = 0.92). In conclusion, the occurrence of
Blastocystis spp. in Uberaba is high and the presence of
diarrheic feces with exclusive presence of the parasite of
Blastocystis spp. was observed. |
