Food handlers: an important reservoir of protozoans and helminth parasites of public health importance

Abstract

Food handlers plays a primary role in the transmission of pathogenically important protozoans and helminth parasites. This study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of intestinal pathogenic protozoans and helminth parasites among food handlers in and around University of Malakand, Lower Dir, Pakistan. Stool samples were collected from 642 food handlers (all of male) in a cross-sectional study from January to November, 2017. Wet Mount Techniques and concentration methods by using salt and formol–ether solutions. Three hundred and eighty four cases (59.8%) were found infected with one more parasites. Most of the individuals were found infected with helminth (47.6%) as compared to intestinal protozoans (0.93%). Seventy two cases (11.2%) of the cases presented mixed infection with both intestinal protozoan and helminth parasites. The order of prevalence for intestinal helminth was Ancylostoma duodenale (n = 258, 40.1%), followed by Taeniasa ginata (n=96, 14.9%) Ascaris lumbricoides (n = 54, 8.40%) and Trichuris trichura (n=30, 4.60%). For intestinal protozoa, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (n = 36, 5.64%) was the only protozoan detected. Mono-parasitism was higher than poly-parasitism. Family size income and education level were the factors significantly (P<0.05) associated in the parasites prevalence. Current research showed that IPIs are primarily the foodborne pathogens still an important public health problem in Pakistan. Effective control programs on parasitic diseases transfer and their associated factors are recommended.

New record of parasitic infection among school children of Lower Dir Pakistan

“…Various studies have been published on intestinal parasites infecting different sectors of human population in the region as Khan et al ( , 2012Khan et al ( , 2014Khan et al ( , 2016Khan et al ( , 2017aKhan et al ( , b, 2018aKhan et al ( , b, 2019a, Arshad et al (2019), Khan and Khan (2015), Noor un Nisa et al ( 2011), Khan et al (2020), Iqbal et al (2021), Khan et al (2022a), Khan et al (2022b), Khan et al (2022c), Ulhaq et al (2022) and Rahman et al (2022).…”

Prevalence of intestinal nematodes infection in school children of urban areas of district Lower Dir, Pakistan

“…In recent past decade various studies have been published on intestinal parasites infecting different sectors of human population in the region as Khan et al (2011Khan et al ( , 2012Khan et al ( , 2014Khan et al ( , 2016Khan et al ( , 2017cKhan et al ( ,b, 2018aKhan et al ( , b, 2019a, Arshad et al (2019), Khan and Khan (2015), Noor un Nisa et al (2011), Khan et al (2020Khan et al ( , 2021aKhan et al ( ,b, 2022, Iqbal et al (2021), Rahman et al (2022), Ulhaq et al (2022).…”

Can Moxidectin Be an Anthelmintic Alternative for Trichuris trichiura and Strongyloides stercoralis: A Systematic Review

“…Another study conducted in Africa revealed the role of cockroaches as a reservoir for infectious pathogens, including ova of T. trichiura , thereby emphasizing the importance of controlling cockroaches to substantially minimize disease spread in our environment [ 10 ]. Khan et al concluded that food handlers play a major role in the transmission of intestinal parasites and that poor education level, large family size as well as low family income are associated with an increased prevalence of parasitic infections [ 11 ].…”