Comparative study of the intestinal parasitism profiles between communities across the 5 municipalities of the Barranquilla metropolitan area, Colombia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the rate of parasitism and intestinal parasitism profiles of children who live in relatively proximal communities across the 5 municipalities of the Barranquilla metropolitan area, Colombia.

Methods: In total, 986 fecal samples from children aged 1 to 10 were analyzed using a direct method (physiological saline and lugol) and the zinc sulfate flotation technique. A comparative analysis of the parasitism profiles between sampling locations (7 schools and 3 health centers providing growth and development services) was conducted using principal component analysis (PCA).