Intestinal parasitic infections among inhabitants of Karaj City, Tehran province, Iran in 2006-2008

Epidemiological survey of the prevalence of intestinal parasites among schoolchildren in Sari, northern Iran

Parasitic infection is highly prevalent throughout the developing countries of the world. Research on the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in various geographic regions is a prerequisite for the development of appropriate control strategies. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among schoolchildren in public primary and secondary schools in the urban areas of Sari, Mazandaran province, northern Iran. The study was conducted from November 2009 to June 2010. A total of 1100 stool samples from 607 males and 493 females aged 7-14 years were examined by direct wet mounting, formalin-ether concentration, and Ziehl-Neelsen and trichrome permanent staining methods. A parental questionnaire for common risk factors was completed for each participant. Mono- or poly-parasitism was detected in 367 (33.3%) of the children (32.6% of males and 34.2% of females). Various species of protozoan or helminth infections were detected: Blastocystis hominis seemed to be the most prevalent parasite (13.5%) followed by Giardia lamblia (10.6%), Entamoeba coli (7.2%), Endolimax nana (1.5%), Enterobius vermicularis (2.2%), Trichostrongylus sp. (2.1%) and Strongyloides stercoralis (1.6%). The prevalence of intestinal parasite infections in females was slightly higher than in males, though without a statistically significant difference (p=0.56). No age association was detected, and a slightly lower positive association with increasing age was observed (p=0.33). A significant association was observed with parents' educational level, household income and practice of hand washing before meals (p<0.01). Although paediatric pathogenic intestinal parasite infections are not more prevalent in this geographical area than in other regions, improvements in personal hygienic conditions and behavioural characteristics is important to completely control parasitic infections in schoolchildren in northern Iran.

Prevalence of intestinal parasites in bakery workers in khorramabad, lorestan iran

BACKGROUND

Food contamination may occur through production, processing, distribution and preparation. In Iran especially in Khorramabad, 33° 29' 16" North, 48° 21' 21" East, due to kind of nutrition, culture and economic status of people, bread is a part of the main meal and the consumption of bread is high. In this study, the bakery workers were studied for determining of intestinal parasites prevalence.

METHODS

The study was carried out during September to November 2010 in Khorramabad. All the 278 bakeries and the bakery workers including 816 people were studied in a census method and their feces were examined for the presence of parasites by direct wet-mount, Lugol's iodine solution, and formaldehyde-ether sedimentation, trichrome staining, and single round PCR (For discrimination of Entamoeba spp).

RESULTS

Ninety-six (11.9%) stool specimens were positive for different intestinal parasites. Intestinal parasites included Giardia lamblia 3.7%, Entamoeba coli 5.5%, Blastocystis sp. 2.1%, Entamoeba dispar 0.4%, Hymenolepis nana 0.1%, and Blastocystis sp. 0.1%.

CONCLUSION

In order to reduce the contamination in these persons, some cases such as stool exam every three months with concentration methods, supervision and application of accurate health rules by health experts, training in transmission of parasites are recommended.

Changing trends in intestinal parasitic infections among long-term-residents and settled immigrants in Qatar

BACKGROUND

The rapid socio-economic development in Qatar in the last two decades has encouraged a mass influx of immigrant workers, the majority of whom originate from countries with low socio-economic levels, inadequate medical care and many are known to carry patent intestinal helminth and protozoan infections on arrival in Qatar. Some eventually acquire residency status but little is known about whether they continue to harbour infections.

METHODS

We examined 9208 hospital records of stool samples that had been analysed for the presence of intestinal helminth and protozoan ova/cysts, over the period 2005-2008, of subjects from 28 nationalities, but resident in Qatar and therefore not recent arrivals in the country.

RESULTS

Overall 10.2% of subjects were infected with at least one species, 2.6% with helminths and 8.0% with protozoan species. Although hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Hymenolepis nana were observed, the majority of helminth infections (69%) were caused by hookworms, and these were largely aggregated among 20.0-39.9 year-old male subjects from Nepal. The remaining cases of helminth infection were mostly among Asian immigrants. Protozoan infections were more uniformly spread across immigrants from different regions when prevalence was calculated on combined data, but this disguised three quite contrasting underlying patterns for 3 taxa of intestinal protozoa. Blastocystis hominis, Giardia duodenalis and non-pathogenic amoebae were all acquired in childhood, but whereas prevalence of B. hominis rose to a plateau and then even further among the elderly, prevalence of G. duodenalis fell markedly in children aged 10 and older, and stayed low (< 2%) gradually falling even further in the elderly. In contrast the prevalence of non-pathogenic amoebae (Entamoeba coli, E. hartmanni, Endolimax nana and Iodamoeba buetschlii) peaked in the 30.0-39.9 age group and only then dropped to very low values among the oldest subjects examined. A worrying trend in respect of both helminth and protozoan parasites was the increase in prevalence over the period 2005-2008, in helminth infections prevalence increasing 2-3 fold by 2008, and in protozoan infections by 1.5-2.0 fold.

CONCLUSIONS

We suggest that helminth infections are probably acquired abroad when immigrants visit their home villages, whilst protozoan infections are reinforced by transmission in Qatar, possibly in the poorer areas of the state where immigrant workers live. We discuss the significance of these findings and emphasize that they have clear implications for the health authorities.

Intestinal parasitic infections among intellectual disability children in rehabilitation centers of northern Iran

Parasitic infection is highly prevalent throughout the developing countries of the world. These infections are the major problem in rehabilitation centers for the mentally retarded. There have been many reports about the prevalence of parasitic infection among different groups of people in Iran; however, the epidemiological data in intellectual disability (ID) individuals are rare and there are no such data from northern Iran. The aim of the present study was to determine the incidence of intestinal parasitic infections among the inhabitants of rehabilitation centers of Mazandaran province, northern Iran. A triple fecal specimens was collected from each of the 362 participants (183 males, 179 females) residing in six rehabilitation centers of Behshahr, Sari, Amol, Nowshahr and Ramsar. Each specimen was examined by direct wet mounting, formol-ether concentration, Ziehl-Neelsen and trichrome permanent staining. The overall infection rate of intestinal parasite was 26.2% (95 out of 362 subjects; 22.4% in males and 30.2% in females). Giardia lamblia was the most commonly found protozoan parasite (8.0%) followed by Entamoeba coli (5.5%), Blastocystis hominis (3.3%), Endolimax nana (2.8%) and Entamoeba histolytica (1.7%). Double infections were E. coli and B. hominis (1.1%), G. lamblia and Chilomastix mesnili (1.1%), G. lamblia and B. hominis (0.5%), G. lamblia and E. coli (0.5%), E. histolytica and E. coli (0.5%), E. nana and E. coli (0.5%) and E. nana and B. hominis (0.5%). No egg-positive case was found. These helminthic parasites were found to be not common among the participants, 75% of whom had been treated with mebendazole by guardians as a tradition, every 6 months. Nevertheless, our data in rehabilitation centers in northern Iran suggest that infection is not higher than that in community population in recent years in this geographical area.