Prevalence of entamoeba histolytica and associated factors in adolescents from the Guale parish of the Paján canton

Abstract

Entamoeba histolytica is the causal agent of amebiasis, a disease with high morbidity and mortality rates that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica and associated factors in adolescents from the Guale downtown, Paján canton. An observational, descriptive, prospective, cross-sectional cohort field study was applied, with a quantitative approach and simple random sampling. 208 adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age were included. Through the application of the survey, it was identified that the most relevant associated risk factors were the presence of animals in the homes, the lack of environmental sanitation, the lack of drinking water and poor personal hygiene habits. Likewise, through the direct coproparasitic method it was found that Entamoeba histolytica/dispar was present in 59 adolescents. Due to the great morphological similarity between these two species, when the results were related to the clinical symptoms, it was found that 51 cases corresponded to Entamoeba histolytica. It was concluded that the prevalence of Entamoeba histolytica in adolescents in the Guale downtown was almost a quarter of the population studied.