Parasitic Contamination of Vegetables in Jos, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Intestinal parasites are very common in developing countries including Nigeria. There are diverse ways of their transmission; the study attempts to determine the level of intestinal parasitic contamination on vegetables sold in Jos. Methods: Sample of 200 each of Tomatoes (Lycopersium sativus), Letus (Loctus satival) Carrot (Davcus carota L) Cabbage (Brassica Denceal) and Green leafy vegetables were analyzed using standardized Centrifugal-floatation technique methods. Results: Of the 1250 samples of vegetables examined, 450 (36.0%) were positive for intestinal parasites, cabbage recorded the highest prevalence of 64% while tomatoes had the least prevalence of 20%. Conclusion: Vegetables in Jos are heavily contaminated with intestinal parasites and there is need for public enlightenment campaign on the danger of consuming inadequately washed and prepared vegetables.Contexte: Les parasites intestinaux sont tr\ue8s communs dans les pays en voie de d\ue9veloppement y compris le Nig\ue9ria. Il y a diff\ue9rents moyens de transmission; le but de cette \ue9tude est de d\ue9terminer le niveau de contamination intestinale des parasites \ue0 partir des l\ue9gumes vendus \ue0 Jos. M\ue9thode: 200 \ue9chantillons de chaque l\ue9gume \ue0 savoir: les tomates (lycopersium saticus), la laitue (Loctus satival), les carrottes (Davcus carota L), les choux (Brassica Denceal) et les l\ue9gumes verts furent analys\ue9s gr\ue2ce \ue0 l'utilisation des m\ue9thodes standardis\ue9es Centrifugal-floatation. R\ue9sultats : Des 1250 \ue9chantillons de l\ue9gumes examin\ue9s, 450 (36%) \ue9taient positifs en parasites intestinaux, la choux a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 la fr\ue9quence la plus haute avec 64% contamination tandis que la tomate a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9e la fr\ue9quence la plus faible avec 20% de contamination. Conclusion: Les l\ue9gumes \ue0 Jos sont hautement contamin\ue9es par des parasites intestinaux et il y a besoin de sensibiliser le public sur le danger de leur consommation dans le cas ou ces l\ue9gumes ne sont pas bien lav\ue9s ou bien cuits