[Intestinal infection by parasites and/or hosts in school children of the IX region, Chile]

The prevalence of intestinal infection by parasites and/or commensals in primary school students from Lautaro, IX Region, was studied. The sample included 68 children from rural and 67 from urban areas. A Telemann modified method, Ziehl-Neelsen technique for Cryptosporidium sp. detection and Graham test were used. The results pointed out high rates of infections by protozoa and helminths (85.4%). There are no statistical differences related to origin for sex or scholarship. In the total sample, the more frequent parasite found was G. lamblia (37.8%); among the youngest was 60.7%. The second frequency was for T. trichiura (22.2%) and the third one for A. lumbricoides (12.6%). Among commensals the percentages were: E. coli 45.5% and E. nana 33.3%. It could be concluded that the intestinal infection by parasites and/or commensals in school children is endemic in the IX region, because the environmental conditions are appropriate for its permanence and transmission, specially in lower socioeconomical groups.