This study evaluated the degree of parasitic contamination of vegetables which are commercialized and consumed fresh in Benha,
Egypt. It included 530 vegetables: lettuce, watercress, parsley, green onion, and leek. Vegetables were collected randomly from
marketswithin Benha. Sampleswerewashed in saline, and the resultingwashing solutionwas filtered and centrifuged to concentrate
the parasitic stages. Sediments and supernatants were examined by iodine and modified Ziehl-Neelsen stained smears. Intestinal
parasites were detected in 157/530 (29.6%) samples. Giardia lamblia cysts were the most prevalent parasite (8.8%) followed by
Entamoeba spp. cysts (6.8%), Enterobius vermicularis eggs (4.9%), various helminth larvae (3.6%), Hymenolepis nana eggs (2.8%),
Hymenolepis diminuta eggs (2.1%), and Ascaris lumbricoides eggs (0.6%).The highest contaminated vegetable was lettuce (45.5%)
followed by watercress (41.3%), parsley (34.3%), green onion (16.5%), and leek (10.7%).These results indicate a significant seasonal
variation ( |
