Survey of faecal parasites in patients from western Kenya

Faecal specimens were collected from patients complaining of diarrhoea and abdominal or epigastric discomfort at two hospitals. Information obtained by questionnaires completed at the time of specimens collection, included demographic and clinical data. Specimens were preserved in 10% formalin and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and examined, as wet mounts and stained with Wheatley's Trichrome, Weber, modified acid-fast and hot safranin stains. One hundred patients were examined, in 30 of them parasites were detected. The most common organism identified was Cryptosporidium parvum, in specimens of five patients, followed by Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar in four patients. The recently described "emerging parasites" were detected. Helminth eggs were found in two patients only. HIV status was not known for most of the patients, and the parasites commonly proliferate in the immuno-compromised individuals were not frequently found.