The study of consumed vegetable parasitic infections in Qazvin

Background: Outbreaks of human parasitic diseases associated with the consumption of raw vegetables, often occur in developing and developed countries. Objective: To evaluate parasitic contamination of edible vegetables in Qazvin. Methods: This was a descriptive analytical study in which 150 samples of different vegetables including leek, parsley, lettuce, coriander, radish, spring onion, tarragon, basil, mint, and cress collected from several greengroceries in Qazvin during 12 months between 2006-2007 were examined. Samples were evaluated for presence of metazoan and protozoan parasitic contaminations. The vegetable samples were washed with water and tested microscopically after performance of sedimentation method. Findings: Fifty three out of 150 samples (35.3%) were found to have parasitic contamination. Among those 45 (30%) and 8 (5.3%) were revealed to be metazoa and protozoa, respectively. Metazoan contaminations were detected by observation of helminthes’ eggs 13 (8.6%) and rhabditoid larva 32 (21.4%) in vegetables. The highest rate of contamination was detected in leek (60%), and the lowest in coriander and radish (20%). Regarding the parasitic infestation, rhabditoid larva with 21.4% and Hymenolepis nana ova with 0.7% were shown to have the highest and lowest rates, respectively. Conclusion: Based on our results, edible vegetables in Qazvin are the potential sources of several parasitic infections in human.