Prevalence and morphological characters of Strongyloides stercoralis contaminating some fresh raw vegetables in Sharkia province, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Departement of Parasitology,Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,Zagazig University.

Abstract

Fresh green vegetables are considered an essential source of all nutrients required for a healthy body. However, parasitic contaminations of fresh raw vegetables are common in most developed countries. Therefore, this study explored the prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis on some fresh raw leafy vegetables in Sharkia province markets because there is not enough data. Raw fresh vegetables of leek (Allium porrum) (n=80) and green onion (Allium ascalonicum) (n=80) were examined. The current study showed that the prevalence of S. stercoralis on leek (Allium porrum) was (60/80) 75% and on green onion (Allium ascalonicum) was (56/80) 70%.  Moreover, morphological characters of S. stercoralis were described.
Those results revealed that consumption of raw green vegetables represented a high risk of human and animal’s infections with S. stercoralis in Sharkia, Egypt. Hence, effective control measures should be applied to minimize parasitic contaminations of vegetables.

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