Persistence of the endemic intestinal parasitoses in Latin America.

Abstract

We are concerned in this article with six intestinal parasitoses-the four main soiltransmitted helminthiases (ascariasis, trichuriasis, hookworm infection, and strongyloidiasis) and the two leading intestinal protozoan infections (amebiasis and giardiasis). These two groups of parasitoses depend on fecal contamination, but there is a significant epidemiologic difference between them. That is, the principal mechanisms for disseminating the four helminthiases involve fecal contamination of the soil and poor environmental sanitation; in contrast, dissemination of the protozooses results largely from poor personal hygiene, the infection being transmitted primarily from person to person via contaminated food, water, or hands. In view of the fact that the intestinal parasitoses are closely linked with underdevelopment and poverty, and since underdevelopment and poverty have diminished little if any over the years among vast portions of the Latin American population, this article is dedicated to examining the connections linking these high levels of intestinal parasitism to the low standards of living prevailing among many of the people of our countries.