Abstract

Parasitic diseases are among the most common problems in developing countries. Various parasitic forms such as cysts, larvae and eggs of the parasite are transmitted orally through the consumption of vegetables. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate parasitic contamination of fresh vegetables consumed in the city of Tabriz. This cross-sectional study was conducted for 3 months in 2014 in Tabriz. In this study, 1620 samples from 10 kinds of vegetables (leeks, basil, mint, chives, radishes, parsley, lettuce, watercress, tarragon and coriander) were collected from 54 vegetable shops. After the washing process, centrifugation, sediment preparation and staining, each sample was examined for parasitic contamination. The parasitic infection was observed in 316 (19.5%) which 141 samples (8.7%) was related to metazoan and 175 samples (10.8%) was related to protozoan. the highest contamination was observed in leeks and the lowest in radish. Most parasitic contaminations were related to Ascaris eggs and E. coli cyst and the lowest parasitic contaminations were related to Heterophyes eggs. It can be concluded that vegetables sold in Tabriz are potential sources of human contamination with parasites. It is suggested that the use of fertilizers of human source in agriculture should be avoided.

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