The conditions of social exclusion and poverty are considered critical determinants that impact the health of individuals and populations due to not having access to quality medical care, good housing or safe food, which increases their vulnerability to parasitic infections. The main profiles of social exclusion are inhabitants of marginal neighbourhoods and deprived rural areas, children from poor and broken families, illegal immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, single immigrant women, the Roma population and families with children whose adults are unemployed or work in precarious conditions.

The research observes a higher frequency of pathogenic species (66.4%) than non-pathogenic species (33.5%) in the intestine of the population studied, although only 10.3% of those who have pathogens present symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting or abdominal pain. “The high percentage of asymptomatic causes that the correct treatment is not applied and, consequently, increases the risk of possible new transmissions. The most prevalent pathogenic species detected is Blastocystis (17%), associated with irritable bowel”, explains Carla Muñoz Antolí, first author of the article and researcher at the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology and Parasitology of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the UV.

In parasitized individuals living in more precarious conditions, the presence of pathogenic species reached 20.6% and 17.5% in those living with pets. In family groups, the infection occurs among all its members and shows an interpersonal parasitic transmission linked to both material deprivation and a lack of health education. “Contrary to what might be expected, infection by pathogenic species was more prevalent in native Spanish families than among immigrant and/or refugee families, linked to precarious living conditions”, explains the professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy.

The Valencian Community has experienced intense demographic growth subject to economic difficulties or shortages in basic goods, and is ranked as the sixth Spanish autonomous community with the highest percentage of the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion. In this study, intestinal parasites are evaluated in 460 users (children and adult relatives) from three children’s schools of Casa Caridad in the province of Valencia.

Article: Muñoz-Antolí, C. et al. «Enteroparasites in a population in deprived conditions from Province of Valencia (Spain)». J Parasitol (2022) 108 (1): 22–29. https://doi.org/10.1645/21-19