Prospective study of enteropathogens in two communities of Misiones, Argentina Estudio prospectivo de enteropatógenos en dos comunidades de Misiones, Argentina

• Published in: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Main Authors: Marta Vergara, Marina Quiroga, Sandra Grenon, Eduardo Pegels, Patricia Oviedo, Jorge Deschutter, Marta Rivas, Norma Binsztein, Raul Claramount
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo 1996
• Subjects: Acute diarrhoea; Epidemiology; Infection; Risk factor; Morbidity; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Argentina; Misiones; Dolores
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46651996000500004; https://doaj.org/article/c3682eb5560648079f6423e10cf4349d

Children under five years of age, from two communities of different socio-economic strata (97 from Zaiman and 55 from Las Dolores) were examined epidemiologically during 2 years, by means of quarterly visits of the working team, who carried out the collection of faecal samples. During the study, one or more enteropathogens were identified in 73.9% of samples in children from Zaiman and in 58.3% of the samples from Las Dolores, being associated to diarrhoea in 70.5% and to asymptomatic infections in 65.7%. The number of diarrheic episodes was higher in Zaiman (15.45%) than in Las Dolores (12.35%), being more frequent in the spring-summer seasons. In Zaiman, the bacterial enteropathogen proportion was relevantly higher (p< 0.005) in children with diarrhoea, whereas the presence of parasites was more frequent in asymptomatic children (p< 0.01). Rotavirus had an even distribution within diarrheic and asymptomatic children. In Las Dolores, no relevant differences were found in the detection of enteroparasites between diarrheic and asymptomatic children. Mixed infections were detected; enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC)-rotavirus and ETEC-parasites being the most frequent ones. ETEC was involved in 85% of these infections. These data, together with the high enteropathogen carriage, suggest an elevated level of environmental contamination. The latter plays an important role in diarrheic diseases, and added to the most extreme poverty, it affects children's lives. Niños menores de cinco años de edad de dos comunidades de diferente condición socio-económica (97 del Barrio Zaimán y 55 del Barrio Las Dolores), fueron vigilados epidemiologicamente durante 2 años, mediante visitas trimestrales del equipo de trabajo, el que realizó la toma de muestras fecales. Durante el estudio, se identificaron uno o más enteropatógenos en el 73,9% de las muestras de niños del Barrio Zaimán y en el 58,3% de Las Dolores, estando asociados a diarrea en un 70,5% y en infecciones asintomáticas en un 65,7%. El número de episodios de ...