| Summary: | Infectious parasites, especially the intestinal protozoan parasites, continue to be a major public health problem in Africa, where many of the same factors contribute to the transmission of these parasites. This study was conducted to investigate the parasites causing intestinal protozoal infections diagnosed in Aristide Le Dantec hospital (Senegal). Direct examination and the Ritchie technique were used. Among the 3407 stool samples studied, 645 demonstrated the presence of intestinal protozoa in single parasitism, biparasitism, or polyparasitism, representing a prevalence of 18.93%. Out of a total of 645 protozoa, 579 (16.99%) were identified in monoparasitism in the following order: <i>Entamoeba coli</i> (6.87%) and <i>Blastocystis hominis</i> (5.69%) for low pathogenic species, and <i>Entamoeba histolytica/dispar</i> (2.31%) and <i>Giardia intestinalis</i> (1.32%) for pathogenic species. The rates of biparasitism and polyparasitism were 1.88% and 0.06%, respectively. The highest rate of parasites was 24.83% between the ages of 0–15 years. A logistical regression model indicated that intestinal protozoan infections were not associated with age groups. There was an association between age groups and <i>Giardia intestinalis</i> and <i>Blastocystis hominis</i> (<i>p</i> < 0.05). These results demonstrated the frequency of intestinal protozoa in Senegal. There is a need to implement treatment, prevention, and control measures to limit the circulation of these protozoan infections.
|
|---|