Occurrence of Schistosoma mansoni in the community of Rio Possmoser, municipality of Santa Maria de Jetibá, in Espírito Santo.

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a neglected disease caused by the parasite Schistosoma mansoni in Brazil and affects more than 200 million people worldwide. According to the Ministry of Health, 1.5 million Brazilians live in areas at risk of contracting schistosomiasis.
The objective of this research is to confirm the prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni in humans and in the community environment of Rio Possmoser, municipality of Santa Maria de Jetibá, in Espírito Santo, taking information in the area of health, environment and sanitation, in addition to contributing to preventive measures can be taken to improve the situation.
In this study, a questionnaire was applied to volunteers from the Rio Possmoser community after signing the Informed Consent Form. Stool samples were also collected following the method of Hoffman, Pons & Janer, water samples following the procedures described in the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewate, employing the chromogenic method with the COLItest ® kit and also snail samples that were identified using a specific taxonomic identification key.
Two positive cases of schistosomiasis were found in men through parasitological examination, 3 positive points of water for total, fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli, in addition to 5 Biomphalaria molluscs that were not infected.
The Rio Possmoser community has a prevalence of schistosomiasis cases in males. It is possible to correlate this prevalence with the result of fecal contamination of water samples and the presence of snails of the genus Biomphalaria in field research.
All the results found from this study, contribute to evidence that the community of Rio Possmoser is prone to the development of the parasite Schistosoma mansoni.