Journal of Parasitology and Vector Biology Vol. 1 (2) pp. 009-012, August, 2009 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/jpvb Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper Prevalence and risk factors associated with intestinal parasites in a rural community of central Mexico Diego Emiliano Jimenez-Gonzalez 1 , Karina Marquez-Rodriguez 1 , Jose Maria Rodriguez 2 , Xavier Gonzales 3 , Joe Oxford 3 , Roland Sanchez 3 , Simon Kawa-Karasik 1 , Ana Flisser 4 and Pablo Maravilla 1 * 1 Department of Molecular Epidemiology, General Hospital “Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez”, Mexico 14080 DF, Mexico. 2 State Ministry of Health, Morelos Mexico. 3 International Program, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX. 4 Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico 04510 DF, Mexico. Accepted 27 August, 2009 Inhabitants of a rural community in Mexico were analyzed for intestinal parasites, 34% of the 115 people studied were positive by Faust’s technique; stream water was also analyzed for parasites, 4/7 sites were positive and these were located near the natural source of drinking water. A questionnaire with social, health and demographic variables was applied to heads of households in search of associations with intestinal parasites. Statistical significant data were having had parasites in the past, being less than 13 years of age and eating unwashed food. A dendogram of Euclidian distances showed two clades; one associated to protection and the other one to risk. Unfortunately, the prevalence of protozoa found in the present study has not changed from previous reports obtained in other rural communities of central Mexico. Our results suggest that health authorities should incorporate health education, anti-protozoa drugs and clean natural water sources as part of the control programs. Key words: Community study, intestinal parasites, rural Mexico. INTRODUCTION Intestinal parasitic diseases remain a serious public health problem in many developing countries especially due to fecal contamination of water and food (Engels and Savioli, 2006; Quihui-Cota et al., 2004). More than 72 species of protozoa and helminth parasites can lodge in humans; most are considered food and water-borne zoonoses. In spite of this, water transmission has been documented only for Cryptosporidium sp, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Encephalitozoon intestinalis, Giardia lamblia, Toxoplasma gondii and Blastocystis sp. (Slifko et al., 2000; Pozio, 2003; Leelayoova et al., 2004). Multiple socio-geographic and environmental factors determine the prevalence and intensity of a parasitic infection such as weather, that affects the time and intensity of outbreaks *Corresponding author. E -mail: maravillap@yahoo.com. (Doligalska and Donskow, 2003; Siski, 2003). The present study was performed in 2005 in a commu- nity of 246 inhabitants located at the South-eastern border of the state of Morelos, Mexico, 18°34´54´´N, 98°56´48´´W with a temperature ranging between 28 - 32°C during the spring and summer and 20 - 26°C during autumn and winter; the rainy season begins in late May and ends in late September. The aim was determining the frequency of intestinal parasites in a sample of 47% of inhabitants and in seven samples of water taken during the rainy and the dry seasons from the natural water spring that is enclosed within a cement construction connected to a local water system and from the stream that crosses the whole community, where kids usually play. The spring is the source of drinking water. The purpose of this study was to determine the variables that support the occurrence of parasites in the population and in the natural water source. For this a dendogram of Eucli-