[Intestinal parasite infections in a periurban community from the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina].

A survey for intestinal parasites was performed on 38 individuals within the urban area of La Plata City (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina). This community is composed of brick-factory workers who also live in the factory premises. An analysis for intestinal parasites was done on fecal samples collected serially and by means of anal swabs and thereafter preserved in formol solution. At the same time, the occurrence of the parasites under study as well as that of commensal organisms was investigated in water and soil samples within the factory environs. Information was also obtained from the members of this community as their age, sex, birthplace, and recent travels, either abroad or to the interior of Argentina. The prevalence of the pathogens and commensal parasites was 89.5%. The frequency of protozoans and helminths was: G. lamblia 26.3%, B. hominis 65.8%, A. lumbricoides 7.9%, H. nana 2.6%, Uncinaria sp. 7.9%, S. stercoralis 2.6% and E. vermicularis 42.1%. None of these parasite or commensal organisms were present in the water samples investigated. Four out of 20 soil samples analyzed contained parasitic elements: T. canis eggs (one), G. lamblia cysts (two) and A. lumbricoides eggs (one). These results indicated that most important factors causing such a high prevalence of coproparasites were the poor conditions of personal and community hygiene in combination with the frequent travels to the north and the northeast of the country, regions which are endemic parasitic areas. The implementation of programs on health education and communal sanitation would contribute in the control of this health problem.