IDENTIFICATION OF Blastocystis hominis, USING TWO PARASITOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES, ON SAMPLES COLLECTED IN NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE WESTERN REGION OF CASCAVEL-PR.

Abstract

Blastocystis hominis (B. hominis) is an intestinal protozoan parasite that has been investigated as a possible causative agent of symptoms, particularly abdominal pain and diarrhea in addition to the association with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. To demonstrate the occurrence of B. hominis, 134 fecal samples were collected in the period from April to October 2013, in the neighborhoods Santa Cruz and Santo Onofre, the city of Cascavel - PR. Each sample was subjected to two parasitological identification methods. In other words, was divided into two parts: the first part was subject to spontaneous sedimentation method (Lutz / HPJ) and the second was analyzed using the centrifugal sedimentation method in formol-ether (Ritchie). The analyzes were performed at the Parasitology Laboratory of the State University of Western Paraná. Were found a good range of parasits, from protozoon to helmints. Among these, the presence of Blastocystis hominis was especially evident, representing n = 24 (8.22%) of the sum of the average of the two methods (n = 292) Table 1. The agreement between the two methods was not unanimous: With Lutz / HPJ method was detected in 14 (9.46%), while the technique Ritchie: 10 (6.94%). The negative samples percentage reached n = 103 (69.59%) in Ritchie and n = 101 (68.23%) in Lutz / HPJ. This value can be associated with improvements in socio-economic and health conditions of the population under study. The occurrence supports the demonstrated in other studies, even though allowed the use of other techniques such as Gram staining and May-Grünwald-Giemsa.