The following work was developed with the objective of evaluating the influence of the environmental and sanitary conditions in the keeping of intestinal parasites on elementary students at the province of Bocas del Toro. In order to do this, some samples of faeces from a group of students that belonged to two schools of the provinces of Bocas del Toro, from rural and urban areas of the zone were analyzed; and at the same time, a questionnaire was applied with the purpose of evaluating the environmental and sanitary conditions of the students`homes.
Two hundred and seven samples of faecal matter from children between 5 and 12 years were collected and processed. The results showed that the most prevalence of protozoa was presented by the E. hystolitica with a 75%, followed by the G. intestinalis with 47%; and the coccidia Cryptosporidium sp. With a 28%. The most prevalence by the helminthes was presented by the A. lumbricoides with an 86%, followed by the E. vermicularis with a 79%, and the hookworms with a 49%.
When applying the X2 test an association higher of the 99% among the two variables studied was observed; being these, the environmental and sanitary conditions of the homes and the prevalence of the intestinal parasitosis; and that is why the hypothesis of the study was accepted.