A comparison of the risk for chronic fascioliasis between children 3 to 5 years and children 6 to 12 years of age in the Cusco Region of Peru

Abstract

School-age children bear the highest burden of fascioliasis in endemic countries. Few studies have addressed Fasciola in preschool children. We performed a secondary data analysis using two Fasciola databases from Cusco, Peru, comparing preschoolers with elementary school children. We included 2,630 children, 50% were female, the median age was 8.4 years (interquartile range [IQR] 6.1–10.5), and 15% (396/2,630) were, 5 years of age. Children, 5 years were less likely to be infected with Fasciola hepatica (P 5 0.008) and Hymenolepis nana (P, 0.001) and more likely to have anemia (P, 0.001) and a lower median height for age Z (HAZ) score (P 5 0.002). Fascioliasis was less common in younger children, but this group may be at higher risk for chronic complications caused by fascioliasis.