[Prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis infection in childhood. Orán, Salta, Argentina].

An enteroparasitological, clinical and epidemiological study was carried out in 36 infants who attended the Hospital San Vicente de Paul from Orán for medical assistance. The age of the children varied between 0 and 4 years with an average of 28 months. The main clinical causes for consultation were bronchitis (52.8%), inappetence (52.8%) and paleness (27.8%). The general characteristics of the stool samples were: formed 44.4% and diarrheic 55.6%. The frequency of intestinal helminthic and protozoan elements was the following: S. stercoralis 30(83.3%) N. americanus 5(13.9%), A. lumbricoides 7(19.4%), T. trichiura 3(8.3%), H. nana 5(13.9%), G. intestinalis 10(27.8%), I. belli 1 (2.8%) and E. coli 4 (11.1%). The nutritional condition found in the infants, according to the relation high/weight was: eutrophic 17(42.2%), lightly undernourished 9(20.0%), moderately undernourished 9(25.0%) and severely undernourished 1(2.8%). The mean values of hematocrit and hemoglobin found were under those established as minima by the W.H.O. The white blood cells and eosinophils countings were over the normal mean values.