Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in Tribal Parts of Khuzestan Province During 2005-07

Abstract

Background: Parasitic diseases are among the most important problems of many countries in the world, especially developing ones. Since various parts of Iran have different types of weather, jobs and people, different and separate epidemiological studies for each province will be necessary. We have scarce information on the epidemiology of intestinal parasites in tribal regions of Khuzestan province. Therefore, we conducted this study to det remine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in this part of Khuzestan Province.

Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, using a cluster random sampling 15 clusters were studied. 15 villages from the Southwest and 13 from the Northeast regions were selected at random. In each village (tribal region) 20-25 families were selected at random (a total of 50 cases in each village). A total of 1494 persons (789 males and 705 females) with different ages were studied for intestinal parasitic infestation using the formalin ether deposit method on all samples, and direct spreading method for those with diarrhea. Fresh samples were collected and sent to the laboratory on the same day.

Results: Age of participants ranged from 6 months to 100 years. The participation ratio was 40.4%. 379 (25.4%) of participants were infested with at least one type of intestinal parasites (pathogenic/non-pathogenic protozoa/helmint). 322 (21.6%) participants were infested with intestinal protozoa and 57 (3.8%) with intestinal helmints. The most common intestinal protozoa were Giardia lamblia (10.9%), Entamoeba coli (9.4%), and Blastocystis hominis (2.4%); the most common intestinal helmints were Hymenolepis nana (2.5%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.6%) and Trichostrongylus species (0.5%).

Conclusion: The tribal parts of Khuzestan province have a poor health status. There is an increase in the prevalence rate of Giardiasis. Furthermore, significant differences existed in prevalence rates of infestation with intestinal parasites between the two studied areas.