Despite the growing awareness and good hygiene conditions, the occurrence of intestinal parasites in children is still a very common phenomenon. Statistics show that even every third child is infected with a gastrointestinal parasite. The most common parasites are pinworms, but there are also human tapeworms and roundworms.

How can you become infected with the parasite?

Parasitic diseases are very easy to get infected. Children are particularly exposed to contact with parasite eggs due to playing outside, a frequent presence in large communities (nurseries, kindergartens, toddler clubs, schools) and not always proper hand hygiene. Parasite eggs, found in sand, soil, unwashed fruit and vegetables, and even in domestic animals, easily get into the body, where they hatch, live and further reproduce. If one child is infected, it becomes a habitat for parasites and a source of infection for others. In the case of a parasitic disease of a child, it is necessary to treat the whole family.

Parasite infestations – symptoms

Infection with parasites can sometimes be asymptomatic, but some symptoms in a child should be of particular interest to us. First of all, remember that the most common symptoms of a parasite infestation are:

• diarrhea
• stomach pain,
• flatulence
• vomiting,
• nausea,
• lack of appetite
• chronic cough
• rashes
• runny nose,
• low-grade fever.

We should also be vigilant if a child has:

• long dark circles under the eyes or itching around the anus are disturbing;
• problems with concentration, hyperactivity, pain in muscles and joints;
• sleep disturbances, insomnia, or grinding teeth while sleeping;
• diagnosed iron deficiency anaemia and weight loss.

The symptoms listed above are often characteristic of other diseases, so it is worth observing the child closely every day, trying to remember all symptoms and analysing them in a broad sense.

How to detect parasites in children?

The most common method of detecting the presence of parasites in the body is to test the stools for their presence. Molecular tests are among the most sensitive and specific methods used in the diagnosis of parasites in the stool. The test allows the detection of parasites at a low intensity of infection, below the detection threshold of standard microscopic methods.

At genXone diagnostic laboratories perform such tests in our Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory. In our offer of molecular tests (using the Real-Time PCR technique), we detect the genetic material (DNA) of the following intestinal parasites:

• Hookworm of the genus Ancylostoma (Ancylostoma spp.),
• Ascaris of the genus Ascaris (Ascaris spp.),
• Human pinworm (Enterobius vermicularis),
• Microsporidia (Enterocytozoon spp./Encephalitozoon spp.),
• Hymenolepsis tapeworm (Hymenolepis spp.),
• American necator (Necator americanus),
• Strongyloides nematode (Strongyloides spp.),
• Tapeworm of the genus Taenia (Taenia spp.),
• Human whipworm (Trichuris trichiura).

The test is carried out in a non-invasive manner, so it does not pose any risk to the health of the child. Simply order a collection kit, collect a stool sample, and return the material to the genXone lab. The test for sale is available HERE. We identify intestinal parasites during one analysis, which significantly reduces the waiting time for the result, and thus allows for quick and proper implementation of the treatment.