Abstract

Iván Ferrer-Rodríguez* and Wieslaw J. Kozek

Intestinal parasitoses remain a major problem in developing countries worldwide. Lack of current data on the prevalence of intestinal parasitoses in institutionalized populations in Puerto Rico prompted us to survey which parasites were endemic in an institution for the mentally retarded. Fecal samples obtained from 86 patients and 43 staff members were examined by direct smear, zinc sulfate flotation and Harada-Mori. Soil samples were collected in three playing areas to determine whether any source of infection was present in the institution. Approximately 52.3% of the patients and 13.9% of the staff members harbored parasites. Forty-five percent of the patients were infected with Trichuris trichiura, 1.2% - hookworms, 19.8% - Escherichia coli 1.2% - Endolimax nana, 2.3% - Giardia lamblia and 2.3% - Dientamoeba fragilis. Nine percent of staff members harbored T. trichiura and 7% E. coli. Only one soil sample contained one egg of T. trichiura. These results indicate that the prevalence of intestinal parasitoses in the institutionalized population examined was much higher than that shown by most recent studies of the general population. Additional studies are required to know the current local prevalence of parasites in the general population and in institutionalized populations of the Island.