Intestinal parasitosis in in-patients of the Teaching Provincial Psychiatric Hospital Antonio Guiteras Holmes. Matanzas, Cuba

Abstract

Introduction: parasitic infection still represents a health problem in developing countries. The information about this topic is huge, however it is very limited in psychiatric institutions worldwide.
Objective: to estimate the prevalence of intestinal parasites in in-patients with long evolving mental diseases staying in the Teaching Provincial Psychiatric Hospital Antonio Guiteras Holmes, of Matanzas, Cuba.
Methods: fecal samples of 56 in-patients were analyzed using copro parasitological techniques between March and May 2012.
Results: 45 patients (80,4 %) had at least one parasites species in their digestive system being Trichuris trichiura 44 (78,6%), the Entamoeba histolytica/E. Dispar complex (15/26.8%) and Giardia lamblia (10/17.9%) the most commonly identified. No one of the patients had signs or symptoms related with the digestive system, nevertheless, 91,1 % of them presented aberrant hygienic-sanitarian habits.
Conclusions: the finding that more than 80 % of the in-patients with long evolving mental diseases staying in the psychiatric hospital of Matanzas were infected by any species of intestinal parasites, and near 10 % of them were polyparasitized shows the necessity of leading actions directed to creating a healthy environment for reducing the transmission possibility of those parasitoses.