Cryptosporidium sp. and Other Intestinal Parasites in Children under 5 Years Old with Diarrhea and their Relationship to Coproqualitative Tests

• Main Authors: Ángela Bracho, Zulbey Rivero Rodríguez, Solneumar Salazar, Patricia Jaimes, Mariana Semprún, Francisca Monsalve Castillo, Rafael Villalobos
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: Universidad del Zulia,Facultad de Medicina,Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Tropicales 2010
• Subjects: parásitos intestinales; cryptosporidium sp; diarrea; pruebas coprocualitativas; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/23804d3bb4e24ee48b6df4668c3e8ced

To determine the presence of Cryptosporidium sp. and other intestinal parasites, as well as their relation to coproqualitative tests, fecal samples were analyzed from 100 children ranging from 3 months to 5 years old, who attended the Autonomous Service Parasitology Laboratory at the University Hospital of Maracaibo (SAHUM) with a clinical diagnosis of diarrhea. These samples were subjected to macroscopic and microscopic examination with SSF (0.85%) and iodine, Kinyoun stain for the detection of intestinal coccidia, coproqualitative tests (occult blood, reducing sugars and pH). Of all the samples studied, 12% evidenced parasites. The species found were Cryptosporidium sp. (4%), Ascaris lumbricoides (1%), Trichuris trichiura (2%) Pentatrichomonas hominis (1%), Giardia lamblia and Blastocystis hominis at (4%). There was no correlation between the coproqualitative tests and the parasitic species identified, nor was there any relationship between parasitosis and gender. Cryptosporidium sp. and Giardia lamblia were the most frequent pathogenic parasites in children 2 years old.