Perea M, Vásquez V, Pineda V, Samudio F, Calzada J E, Saldaña A
Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud (ICGES), Panamá, Panama.
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad de Panamá, Panama.
Parasite Epidemiol Control. 2020 Jan 24;9:e00139. doi: 10.1016/j.parepi.2020.e00139. eCollection 2020 May.
sp. is a commonly reported intestinal parasite with a worldwide distribution. Phylogenetic analyses describe at least 17 subtypes for this parasite, and nine of them have been found in humans. However, the prevalence and some epidemiological characteristics of this parasitic infection in rural communities are not well known. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the prevalence, subtypes, and epidemiological factors related to sp. Infection in children from of a small rural community in the central area of Panama. For this, 66 fecal samples from children (1 to 12 years old), were initially analyzed for the presence of parasites by a formalin-ethyl acetate/concentration method. Molecular detection and identification of sp. subtypes were carried out by amplification and sequencing of a partial fragment of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene. Using data from a questionnaire, analyses of epidemiological conditions potentially associated with sp. transmission were also conducted. Microscopic diagnostics showed that 33.3% (22/66) of the analyzed samples presented entero-parasites. Among them, sp. was the most prevalent, with 21.2% (14/66), followed by the complex 4.5% (3/66), 1.5% (1/66) and 1.5% (1/66). PCR-based analyses detected a prevalence of sp. infection of 74.2% (49/66) in apparently healthy children. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two different subtypes of this parasite: ST1 with 42.2% (28/66) infected, and ST3 with 31.8% (21/66) infected. In addition, recent diarrhea was significantly associated with sp. infection. None of the other risk factors evaluated was statistically associated with infection. These results highlight the need to further investigate clinical, epidemiological, and genetic characteristics of sp. infections in this community.
某寄生虫是一种常见的肠道寄生虫，在全球范围内均有分布。系统发育分析表明该寄生虫至少有17个亚型，其中9种已在人类中发现。然而，这种寄生虫感染在农村社区的流行情况和一些流行病学特征尚不清楚。这项横断面研究的目的是评估巴拿马中部一个小农村社区儿童中某寄生虫感染的患病率、亚型及相关流行病学因素。为此，最初采用福尔马林 - 乙酸乙酯/浓缩法对66名儿童（1至12岁）的粪便样本进行寄生虫检测。通过对小亚基核糖体RNA基因的部分片段进行扩增和测序，对某寄生虫亚型进行分子检测和鉴定。利用问卷调查数据，还对可能与某寄生虫传播相关的流行病学状况进行了分析。显微镜诊断显示，33.3%（22/66）的分析样本存在肠道寄生虫。其中，某寄生虫最为常见，占21.2%（14/66），其次是某复合体占4.5%（3/66），某虫占1.5%（1/66），另一虫占1.5%（1/66）。基于PCR的分析在看似健康的儿童中检测到某寄生虫感染率为74.2%（49/66）。系统发育分析揭示了该寄生虫的两种不同亚型：ST1感染率为42.2%（28/66），ST3感染率为31.8%（21/66）。此外，近期腹泻与某寄生虫感染显著相关。评估的其他风险因素均与感染无统计学关联。这些结果凸显了进一步调查该社区某寄生虫感染的临床、流行病学和遗传特征的必要性。
