Enteroparasitic contamination in doorknobs, in a high school in Barquisimeto, Venezuela

Abstract

Introduction: the absence of studies on doorknobs as passive vectors in the transmission of enteric parasites in Venezuela and particularly in Lara State, motivated the present study. Methodology: the knobs of 20 doors were examined, for each door the internal and external knob was rubbed three times (each one) with a sterile swab impregnated with 0.85% isotonic saline solution (SSI), resuspending it in a tube with 5 ml of SSI, which was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes, to then separate the supernatant and immediately mount the sediment between slides (SSI and Lugol) to then observe under a microscope. Results: 80% of the samples analyzed were contaminated, obtaining 13 taxa of enteroparasites, namely: Endolimax nana (70% of the total samples examined), Blastocystis sp (50%), Giardia lamblia (20%), Cryptosporidium sp (20%), Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar (10%), Entamoeba coli (10%), Chilomastix mesnili (5%), Entamoeba hartmanni (5%), Iodamoeba butschlii (5%), Cystoisospora belli (5%), Ascaris lumbricoides (15%), Hymenolepis nana (5%) and Trichuris trichiura (5%). Discussion: the observed enteroparasitic diversity and its abundance correspond to what was reported in studies of human parasitic prevalence in Lara State, it is also related to contaminations indicated in tickets, intercoms and handrails in Barquisimeto. Conclusion: the absence of the correct and frequent cleaning in the knobs, potentially favors the transmission of enteroparasites in members of this educational community, which perhaps could be extrapolated to other institutions in similar conditions.