Frequency of intestinal parasites in patients attended at a university hospital in Maceió, state of Alagoas, Brazil

The aim of this study was to analyze the parasitological tests of a population at a public hospital in Maceió-AL. A descriptive study was made between January and July of 2015 analyzing the parasitological tests of a population at a public hospital in Maceió-AL. Variables such as gender, age, positive tests, protozoan species, helminths species and parasitic associations were analyzed. Out of 1.581 tests, 806 (51%) tested positive. Regarding gender, 535 (67%) were from women. Helminths were the most predominant infections (63.94%), compared to protozoans (36.06%). The Helminths with the highest number of infections were: Ascaris lumbricoides (93.23%), Trichuris trichiura (2.32%) and Enterobius vermicularis (1.26%). Among protozoans, Endolimax nana and Entamoeba coli corresponded to 78.09% and 15.91% respectively. Although non pathogenic, it suggests fecal contamination. According to the degree of parasitism, 84.0% were monoparasitism. It can be concluded that the number of positive tests for enteroparasites was high, mainly in men. The species A. lumbricoides was the main helminth detected, while E. nana was the main protozoan found in the tests. The age group between 24 and 59 years old was the one that had the highest amount of positive tests. The results observed strengthen the need for the implementation of prevention measures for intestinal parasitic infections

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data