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Asociación entre las infecciones parasitarias intestinales y el tipo de sistema sanitario en El Salvador rural
Author(s) -
Corrales Lana F.,
Izurieta Ricardo,
Moe Christine L.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2006.01737.x
Subject(s) - latrine , sanitation , biosolids , pit latrine , ascaris lumbricoides , environmental health , hygiene , ascariasis , medicine , helminthiasis , ascaris , trichuris trichiura , veterinary medicine , helminths , immunology , environmental science , environmental engineering , pathology
Summary Objective To identify demographic, behavioural and environmental determinants of intestinal parasitic infection, evaluate the impact of a variety of dry sanitation systems on intestinal parasitic infection, and evaluate the safety of using stored biosolids in agriculture in order to guide future sanitation interventions in rural areas of El Salvador. Methods Interviews were conducted with 109 households in eight communities where double‐vaulted and solar urine‐diverting desiccating latrines, pit latrines or no latrines were used. Faecal samples from 499 individuals were tested for enteric helminths and protozoa. Results Users of solar desiccating latrines had the lowest prevalence of enteric parasite infection. Double‐vault, urine‐diverting desiccating latrines effectively reduced the transmission of some pathogens, but may not achieve the conditions sufficient for the complete destruction of the more environmentally persistent pathogens, Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura . Contact with inadequately treated latrine biosolids was associated with an increased risk of Ascaris infection. Conclusions Solar latrines were associated with the overall lowest prevalence of enteric parasitic infections. Members of households where latrine biosolids were used in agriculture had a higher prevalence of infection than those where biosolids were buried. We therefore recommend the promotion of solar latrines in rural areas of El Salvador over other dry sanitation systems, and recommend that stored biosolids not be used in agriculture.