OBJECTIVES: To design, implement, and evaluate a complex plan of actions aimed at reducing parasitoses in a rural town in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the involvement of the community. METHODS: The project took place in General Mansilla, Buenos Aires province, in three stages. First, the initial epidemiological situation of intestinal parasitoses in the community was assessed by analyzing for parasites a series of stool samples and anal swabs taken from a sample of 522 individuals. Second, interventions were implemented: the pharmacological treatment of the infected individuals, and health education for the public involving local promoters. Third, the pharmacological treatment was evaluated with followup stool testing for those treated; the health education effort was evaluated through a survey and stool testing for parasites of those who had participated solely in the education. RESULTS: The frequency of intestinal parasitoses was 58.2%; of the total, 43.9% were protozoa and 35.2%, helminths. The most common pathogens were Enterobius vermicularis, Blastocystis hominis, and Giardia lamblia. The deworming treatment reduced intestinal parasitoses to 15.1% (P < 0.001), and was more effective in helminths than in protozoa. Intestinal parasitoses declined following the health education intervention, in general (from 58.2% to 47.9%; P = 0.019), as well as for helminths (from 35.2% to 20.3%; P < 0.001), and hygiene habits improved significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of parasitosis and the educational intervention provided by local promoters made it possible to reduce parasitic diseases-particularly those caused by helminths-in the community under study. We recommend extending this experience to other rural communities and broadening the interventions to cutoff additional modes of transmission, such as water and food.
OBJECTIVES: To design, implement, and evaluate a complex plan of actions aimed at reducing parasitoses in a rural town in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the involvement of the community. METHODS: The project took place in General Mansilla, Buenos Aires province, in three stages. First, the initial epidemiological situation of intestinal parasitoses in the community was assessed by analyzing for parasites a series of stool samples and anal swabs taken from a sample of 522 individuals. Second, interventions were implemented: the pharmacological treatment of the infected individuals, and health education for the public involving local promoters. Third, the pharmacological treatment was evaluated with followup stool testing for those treated; the health education effort was evaluated through a survey and stool testing for parasites of those who had participated solely in the education. RESULTS: The frequency of intestinal parasitoses was 58.2%; of the total, 43.9% were protozoa and 35.2%, helminths. The most common pathogens were Enterobius vermicularis, Blastocystis hominis, and Giardia lamblia. The deworming treatment reduced intestinal parasitoses to 15.1% (P < 0.001), and was more effective in helminths than in protozoa. Intestinal parasitoses declined following the health education intervention, in general (from 58.2% to 47.9%; P = 0.019), as well as for helminths (from 35.2% to 20.3%; P < 0.001), and hygiene habits improved significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of parasitosis and the educational intervention provided by local promoters made it possible to reduce parasitic diseases-particularly those caused by helminths-in the community under study. We recommend extending this experience to other rural communities and broadening the interventions to cutoff additional modes of transmission, such as water and food.
Authors: Joshua V Garn; Jennifer L Wilkers; Ashley A Meehan; Lisa M Pfadenhauer; Jacob Burns; Rubina Imtiaz; Matthew C Freeman Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2022-06-21
Authors: María de la Luz Galván-Ramírez; Ana Luisa Madriz-Elisondo; Cynthia Guadalupe Temores Ramírez; Jorge de Jesús Romero Rameño; Dania Araceli de la O Carrasco; Marco Antonio Cardona López Journal: Osong Public Health Res Perspect Date: 2019-02