Prevalencia de Cryptosporidium spp. y Giardia spp. en terneros, y su presencia en agua y en niños con problemas digestivos en el cantón San Fernando, Ecuador

To determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in the feces of calves 0-4 months of age, as contaminating factor of the water resources used by the human population of 2-6 years old, in the canton San Fernando, province of Azuay. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional epidemiological study carried out during the period from September 2013 to April 2014. A sample of 120 calves from 0 to 4 months of age was used, according to AGROCALIDAD data; 42 children from 2 to 6 years of age with digestive problems in their visit to the health center; and 40 liters of water obtained from the catchment area in the Hato de la Virgen sector. In calves and infants, fecal material was collected and treated to perform the Ziehl-Neelsen coloration for Cryptosporidium spp. and the Ritchie technique for Giardia spp.; in the water, the number of cysts and oocysts/100 ml were determined by the EPA method 1623. The children were discriminated for the study according to the origin (rural or urban). Descriptive statistics were applied with the SPSS 22. Results: A prevalence of 93.3% Cryptosporidium spp. (112 positive cases) and 76.7% Giardia spp. (92 positive cases) was found in calves. In water, the presence of 5 oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp./100 ml and 10 cysts of Giardia spp./100 ml. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. in children reached an average of 14.3%, while that of Giardia spp. was 33.3%. Conclusions: The study demonstrated a high prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in calves, who would be largely responsible for the high concentration in water and high prevalence in children with digestive problems in the canton San Fernando. Determinar la prevalencia de Cryptosporidium spp. y Giardia spp. en heces de terneros de 0-4 meses de edad, como factor contaminante de los recursos hídricos de uso de la población humana de 2-6 años de edad, en el cantón San Fernando, provincia del Azuay. Metodología: Es un estudio epidemiológico de corte transversal-descriptivo, realizado durante el período septiembre del 2013 a abril del 2014. Se utilizó una muestra de 120 terneros de 0 a 4 meses de edad, que de acuerdo a los datos de AGROCALIDAD es la totalidad de terneros del cantón; 42 niños de 2 a 6 años de edad con problemas digestivos en su visita al centro de salud y 40 litros de agua obtenida de la zona de captación en el sector del Hato de la Virgen. En terneros y niños se utilizó materia fecal que fue tratada para realizar la coloración de Ziehl