Protozoa Contaminated Raw Vegetables and Fruits in Minia City (Egypt): Control by Three Safe Disinfectants

Abstract

Intestinal protozoan infection is a common zoonotic parasitic disease worldwide. Contaminated fresh vegetables and fruits are important sources of parasitic infections. This study identified the parasites infesting raw green vegetables and fruits and effect of some washing solutions to eliminate them.A total of 398/1000 samples of green vegetables and fruits collected from October 2020 to September 2021 were infested with intestinal protozoa. Contaminated parasites were diagnosed microscopic by stained smears and flotation of each materials sample separately. Lemon juice 10%, sodium salt solution 1.5% and vinegar 0.5% were used to control parasitic stages as com-pared to tap water & potassium permanganate solution 150ppm as standard ones.The commonest parasites were Entamoeba histolytica (19.2%) followed by Cryptosporidium parvum (18%). The most contaminated vegetables were watercress (64/113) followed by lettuce (56/99), with a significant seasonal variation in all parasites prevalence and incidence on plants. Vinegar 5%, lemon 10% & salt 1.5% gave highly significant lethal effect on all parasites as compared to water (P= 0.0001). Besides, potassium permanganate, lemon juice gave a significant lethal effect on C. parvum, but the sodium salt solution was only significant on E. histolytica, G. lamblia and Blastocystis hominis.