Parasitological assessment of the water supply and the domiciliary surrounding area soil in Guarani Villages

Abstract

In Guarani villages of Angra dos Reis and Paraty the water is supplied by springs capture, water treatment with chlorine and/or filters and storage reservoirs. The sanitation system is structured by sanitary modules provided by Funasa. In order to evaluate the environmental contamination by protozoa and helminths, the soil and water samples collected from the villages were assessed by means of parasitological analyses. From four villages, twenty-four water samples were collected from the intake points using filter cartridges, 24 samples from chlorinated water reservoirs by siphoning and 64 soil samples by scraping the soil surface of domiciliary surrounding areas. All samples were analyzed by means of centrifugal sedimentation, flotation techniques, and enzyme immunoassay for Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica, and associated detection of soil nematode larvae. The Paraty Mirim and Rio Pequeno villages showed the highest number of positive water samples for parasites amoebids and Giardia sp. cysts, G. lamblia, E. histolytica and Cryptosporidium spp. antigens. Eggs of Ascaris sp. and Trichuris sp.; antigens of Cryptosporidium spp. andE. histolytica were detected in the village Sapukai soil. These results indicate a high environmental contamination and a deficiency in the treatment of water that supplies the Guarani villages.