High occurrence of giardiasis in children living on a 'landless farm workers' settlement in Araras, São Paulo, Brazil

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Oswaldo Aparecido de Lima Junior, Juliana Kaiser, Rosana Catisti
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2013
• Subjects: 'Landless farm workers' settlement; Giardiasis; Giardia intestinalis; Parasitic infections; Public health; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652013000300008; https://doaj.org/article/ba21d0b88a724b2b83d0a27fbf26e89b

Enteric parasitosis remains an important public health problem in many areas around the world including in Brazil, and it is frequently associated with poverty and lack of sanitation facilities. Research carried out over the course of a year revealed that 96.6% (28/29) of children randomly selected from a 'landless farm workers' settlement in Araras, São Paulo, aged 4 - 15 years, presented Giardia intestinalis cysts. After referral to the neighborhood Health Office, all the children received tinidazole, given as a single dose of 50 mg/kg and 12 months later, new fecal samples were collected and analyzed. Despite the low adherence to the study, a high percentage (64.3% - 9/14) of the children remained positive for the parasite. This study showed a high positivity of giardiasis in child residents of the settlement, even after treatment; adults were not sensitized to the study and did not collected and/or deliver children fecal samples. The precarious living conditions are consistent with a high susceptibility to parasitic diseases, suggesting that the treatment of the infected individuals without identifying and eradicating the means of contamination is simply a palliative measure.