Regional Differences in Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Army Recruits in a Southern Mozambique Training Center: A Cross-Sectional Study

Due to the high prevalence and diversity of clinical manifestations, intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) represent a public health problem. The objective of the work was to determine the prevalence of IPIs among army recruits at a practice and training center in southern Mozambique. Sociodemograp...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Verónica Casmo, Sérgio Chicumbe, Rosa Chambisse, Rassul Nalá
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-08-01
Series:Pathogens
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/9/1105
Description
Summary:Due to the high prevalence and diversity of clinical manifestations, intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) represent a public health problem. The objective of the work was to determine the prevalence of IPIs among army recruits at a practice and training center in southern Mozambique. Sociodemographic information was obtained through semi-structured interviews. Single urine and stool samples were collected from 362 recruits. Parasite diagnosis was made by filtration, formaldehyde-ether and Kato-Katz techniques. Positive individuals underwent abdominal ultrasound. Then, descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations were performed, and <i>p</i>-values < 0.05 were considered significant. The prevalence of infection with at least one parasite was 25.1% (95% CI: 20.5–29.6; n = 91). The most common parasites were <i>Entamoeba coli</i> (10.7%; 95% CI: 7.4–13.7; n = 37) and <i>Trichuris trichiura</i> (6.1%; 95% CI: 4.6–9.9; n = 25). Parasitic infection was associated with the origin of the participant (<i>p</i>-value < 0.001), and the province of Sofala had the highest prevalence among the provinces studied (70.6%; 95% CI: 47.0–87.8; 12/17). Since oral fecal transmission occurs for several parasites, routine screening and deworming prior to enrollment at the army training center is recommended to reduce transmission of intestinal parasites among recruits.
ISSN:2076-0817