[Intestinal parasitic colonization and protein-caloric malnutrition]

Intestinal parasitic infection was determined by fecal examination for parasites with several complementary methods in 380 young Gabonese infants aged 6 to 24 months (190 with normal weights and 190 with malnutrition, matched for age). Trichuris trichiura, Ascaris lombricoides, Giardia intestinalis, Entamoeba histolytica and Strongyloides stercoralis were the most prevalent parasites, without any difference between well-fed infants and patients with malnutrition. The higher prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis in protein energy malnutrition might be related to a methodologic problem. However, more than 20% of diarrheas in infants with severe malnutrition were dramatically improved by specific treatment of S. stercoralis or Giardia with thiabendazole or metronidazole.