Occurrence and Diversity of Intestinal Parasites on Raw Vegetables Sold in Samaru, Zaria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47430/ujmr.2491.017Keywords:
Vegetables, Contamination, Intestinal parasites, Transmission, Zaria, Ascaris lumbricoidesAbstract
Vegetables are part of everyday diet. There has been more emphasis on their palatability and nutritional values, but they potentially contribute to transmitting intestinal parasites, among other pathogens, to man. This study examined 10 samples of five commonly consumed vegetables from Samaru in Zaria, Nigeria. Twenty-five (25g) fresh vegetable samples were washed in 225 mL of sterile normal saline and gently shaken for 60 seconds. The wash water was allowed to stay for 3 hr in the dark. The supernatant was carefully discarded until only about 15mL was left. The sediment was further concentrated by centrifuging at 3000 revolutions per minute for 5 minutes and examined for intestinal parasites on wet mounts using the compound light microscope. The overall occurrence of intestinal parasites on the vegetables was 22.0%. Ascaris lumbricoides was the most occurring parasite (18.0%), followed by equal 2.0% of hookworms, Trichuris trichiura and Fasciola species. Vegetable samples obtained from Mangorori Market had the highest contamination with Ascaris lumbricoides than other markets, but overall parasitic contamination was highest on vegetables obtained from ABU Community Market. Cabbage was the most contaminated (50.0%), followed by 20% each of lettuce and carrots. Samples displayed on mats during the sale had the highest contamination with Ascaris lumbricoides (23.5%), followed by those displayed on the ground (22.2%). There was higher intestinal parasitic contamination of vegetables sold in dirty surroundings (23.3%) than in relatively clean surroundings (10.0%). Sufficient orientation on the role of fresh raw vegetables in transmitting intestinal parasites should be aimed at farmers, sellers, distributors and final consumers to curb potential health risks
Downloads
References
Amoah, I.D., Adegoke, A.A. and Stenström, T.A. (2018). Soil‐transmitted helminth infections associated with wastewater and sludge reuse: A review of current evidence. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 23(7):692-703. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.13076
Bekele F. and Shumbej T (2019). Fruit and vegetable contamination with medically Important helminths and protozoans in Tarcha town, Dawuro zone, Southeast Ethiopia. Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine, 10:19-23. https://doi.org/10.2147/RRTM.S205250
Bekele, F., Tefera, T., Biresaw, G. and Yohannes, T. (2017). Parasitic contamination of raw vegetables and fruits collected from selected local markets in Arba Minch town, Southern Ethiopia. Infectious Diseases of Poverty, 6(1):19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-016-0226-6
Bishop, H.G. and Yohanna, A.Z. (2018). Contamination of vegetables with geohelminths: prevalence, intensity and roles of hygiene practices in Samaru-Zaria, Nigeria. International Journal of Academic and Applied Research, 2(7):8-13
Eraky, M.A., Rashed, S.M., Nasr, M.E., El-Hamshary, A.N.S. and El-Ghannam, A.S. (2014). Parasitic contamination of commonly consumed fresh leafy vegetables in Benha, Egypt. Journal of Parasitology Research, 2014(Article ID 613960). https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/613960
Gemechu, T., Bona, J., Aliyo, A., Dedecha, W. and Shenafi, G. (2023). Assessment of Intestinal Parasites and Its Associated Factors among Fruits and Vegetables Collected from Local Markets of Bule Hora Town, Southeast Ethiopia. Journal of Tropical Medicine, 2023(1861919). https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/1861919
Haque, R. (2007). Human intestinal parasites. Journal of Health, population and Nutrition. 25(4):387-391.
Istifanus, W.A. and Panda, S.M. (2018). Parasitic agents in fresh fruits and vegetables sold in open markets in Bauchi, Nigeria. Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control, 5(2018):84-88. https://doi.org/10.29252/jfqhc.5.3.84
Mohamed, M.A., Siddig, E.E., Elaagip, A.H., Edris, AM.M. and Nasr, A.A. (2016). Parasitic contamination of fresh vegetables sold at Central markets in Khartoum state, Sudan. Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, 15(17). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12941-016-0133-5
Nkouayep, V.R., Tchakounté, B.N., and Poné, J.W (2017). Profile of geohelminth eggs, cysts, and oocysts of protozoans contaminating the soils of ten primary schools in Dschang, West Cameroon. Journal of Parasitology Research. 2017(Article ID 1534675). https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/1534675
Nyirenda, S.S., Bukowa, K.M., Banda, W.R., Mbewe, J., Hamankolom, F., Banda, F., Kwenda, G., Munba, M. and Zulu, E. (2021). Parasitic contamination of common vegetables sold in Lusaka, Zambia. Journal of Food Quality and Hazards Control, 8(2021):112-118. https://doi.org/10.18502/jfqhc.8.3.7197
Orlandi, P.A., Chu, D.T., Bier, J.W. and Jackson, G.J. (2002). Parasites and the food supply. Food Technology, 56(4):72-81.
Simon-Oke, I.A., Afolabi, O.J. and Obasola, O.P. (2014). Parasitic contamination of fruits and vegetables sold in Akure metropolis, Ondo State, Nigeria. Researcher, 6: 30-35.
Tefera, T., Biruksew, A., Mekonnen, Z., Eshetu, T. (2014). Parasitic contamination of fruits and vegetables collected from selected local markets of Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia. International Scholarly Research Notices, 2014(ID 382715). https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/382715
Yahaya, O. and Bishop, H.G. (2022). Parasitic contamination of fresh vegetables sold in some major markets and farms in Zaria. Science World Journal, 17(1):130-133.
Yahaya, O., Bishop, H.G., Umar I.O., Enoch, A.C. and Markus, D.A. (2023). Distribution dynamics of intestinal parasites on vegetables sold in Egah Market, Kogi State, Nigeria. Science World Journal, 18(1):71-74
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Ocholi Yahaya, Henry Ganriel Bishop, Hauwa Abubakar, Samuel Jacob, Christiana Ozeiza Apata
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
