Resumo

DEVERA, Rodolfo Antonio et al. Prevalence of intestinal coccidian in preschool children from San Felix City, Venezuela. Rev. Soc. Ven. Microbiol. [online]. 2010, vol.30, n.1, pp.61-64. ISSN 1315-2556.

Many epidemiological aspects of intestinal coccidiosis in Bolivar State are not known. There are no studies done in apparently health children. The purpose of this study was to determine intestinal coccidian prevalence in preschool children attending the S.E.U. Teresa de la Parra preschool located in San Felix, Bolivar State, Venezuela. The universe included 109 children, and 73 were included in the study. A spontaneous evacuation fecal sample was collected from each child, preserved in 10% formaldehyde, and analyzed by a formaldehyde-ether technique, and Kinyoun stain. Sixty seven percent of the universe was evaluated (73/109). Eighty seven point seven percent of the children were infected by some parasite and/or commensal. Ten enteroparasite species were diagnosed, and Blastocystis hominis (37%) and Giardia lamblia (27.4%) were the most frequent of the protozoa. Among the helminthes, the most common were Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura with 35.6% each. Prevalence of intestinal coccidian was 10.9% and Cryptosporidium spp. was the only one diagnosed in eight cases (10.9%). The infection did not show any age predilection, but there was a gender bias, since 87.5% of those infected were females. Only three of the cases (37.5%) with Cryptosporidum spp. had diarrhea. In conclusion, a relative high rate of intestinal coccidiosis in the preschool children evaluated was determined.

Palavras-chave : Intestinal coccidian; preschool children; Cryptosporidium.