Introduction:

The intestinal parasitic diseases caused by geohelminths are considered a public health problem that primarily affect developing countries and are likely to occur in children. The diagnostic methods to identify these parasitic entities are the direct stool and concentration techniques. The method established by the World Organization of the Health-WHO to identify and quantify geohelmintiasis is the Kato-Katz; however, this does not occur in fieldwork with long periods of time, since analysis should be performed in the first 48 hours of the sampling of fecal matter.

Objective:

Implement the use of SAF fixative (sodium acetate - acetic acid - formaldehyde) in the technique of Ka-to-Katz-WHO and to assess the stability of the structures of the entities parasitic, after a period of twelve months of taking shows and make comparison with the technique of modified Ritchie-Frick (formol-gasoline) concentration, to determine the values of sensitivity-S, specificity-E, predictive value PPV-positive and negative-VPN and determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitism and its possible variables associated in the infant community preschool and in schools of the municipality of Chaguanín Cundinamarca.

Materials and methods:

67 samples corresponding to the entire child population at preschool and school age of the urban area of the municipality of Chaguani in Cundinamarca, which were valued by the methods of Kato-Katz-SAF and concentration of modified Ritchie-Frick (formol-gasoline) and subsequent microscopic analysis.

Results:

The prevalence of geohelmintiasis was 46.3%, the technique of Kato-Katz-SAF presented values of S, E, VPP, and 100% and VPN technique of concentration of modified Ritchie-Frick (formol-gasoline) 60.8% S, E and VPP 100% respectively and VPN 62.1%; the prevalence for protozoa by this method was 65.7% being etiologic agents pathogenic and zoonotic character. It was identified as variables onicofagia, consumption of water without boiling or chlorination process, the presence of mechanical vectors, coexistence with domestic animals such as dogs, overcrowded housing and less frequent use of footwear, are variables of possible statistical association with the presence of parasitic entities. Level of parasitemia was determined by mild geohelmintiasis for this population.

Conclusion:

Study revealed that the use of SAF reagent can be deployed in field work extended to conserving the infective stages of entities as geohelminths: Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworms for a period of up to twelve months.

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