The three more frequent combinations of two parasites were: Entamoeba histolytica + Entamoeba coli (37 cases) Giardia lamblia + Strongyloides stercoralis (3 cases), and hookworm + E. The occurrence of enteric parasites or commensals in the population studied is presented in Table 1. Patient age ranged from 13 to 42 years and the duration of pregnancy at the time of fecal sample collection ranged from 2 to 41 weeks.Īs a result of this survey, 163 (32.4%) pregnant women were found to harbor parasites and/or commensals: 93 (57.1%) harbored a single parasite, 53 (32.5%) harbored two, and 17 (10.4%) harbored several. As part of the routine prenatal examination, on the occasion of the first interview each patient was asked to provide a fecal sample, which was analyzed by the MIFC method for a parasitologic survey. The objective of the present study was to identify the enteric parasites and commensals occurring in pregnant women at the University Hospital, Federal University of Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais.Ī retrospective study was carried out on 503 pregnant women seen at the Normal Prenatal Outpatient Clinic of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics from January to December 1994. The study of enteric infections is particularly important during pregnancy because, at this stage, the obstetrician can properly advice his patient about the risks of the disease, preventive measures and the choice of the most appropriate therapeutic conduct 1. Enteric parasite infections may cause delayed fetal growth, premature delivery, and infection in the fetus, in the placenta or in the newborn baby 10, 15, 17. Fortunately enteric parasite infections seldom interfere with the reproductive capacity of human hosts 11, but in countries with low socio cultural and economic standards their interaction with other prevalent infections, added to maternal malnutrition, may considerably contribute to an unfavorable prognosis for the mother or the child 17. Millions of pregnant women around the world harbor chronic enteric infections, which in underdeveloped countries 17 may affect 90% of all women during their gravid puerperal cycle 7. Although this statement may appear to be unjustified a priori, it arises from the fact that these infections are of high prevalence in the human species 1. Infections by enteric parasites constitute the group of diseases most commonly associated with pregnancy. Despite the scarcity of available information about the socioeconomic factors whose joint effects result in the transmission of enteric parasite infections, it is an established fact that the improvement of living standards and of basic sanitation leads to a conspicuous decrease in the incidence of these infections 11. The proportion of these infections decreases with the improvement of living standards of the involved communities and is considered to be indicative of the degree of local development. The prevalence of enteric parasite infections poses a serious public health problem in developing countries. KEYWORDS: Pregnant women Enteric parasites Pregnancy infections ) Acadêmicos do Curso de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brasil. ) Departamento de Patologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brasil. ) Departamento de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brasil. ENTERIC PARASITES AND COMMENSALS IN PREGNANT WOMEN SEEN AT THE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF UBERLÂNDIA, STATE OF MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL