DETECTION OF PARASITES CONTAMINATING RAW CONSUMABLE VEGETABLES IN ASSIUT CITY, ASSIUT GOVERNORATE, EGYPT

Vegetables are a major way for the transmission of human parasites, especially those thatare consumed raw and or not properly washed. The leafy vegetables act as a reservoir host forthese parasites or act as a critical intermediate host for some parasites encysted to completetheir life cycle. The study aimed to evaluate the extent of parasitic contamination of variousraw consumed vegetables available commercially in Assiut City. A cross-sectional study wasconducted in 2017 & 2018, where a total of 240 samples were collected (40 samples fromeach of Watercress, Radish, Parsley, Coriander, Green onion, and Lettuce). A direct simplewashing technique available to households was used to recover parasites in each plant. Parasiticcontamination rate was calculated.The overall parasites were 202/240 (84.1%). Parsley was the highly contaminated vegetablewhereas Lettuce was the least contaminated. The most encountered contaminating parasitewas Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts 76.25% (183/240) most frequent in radish (38/40),while Isospora sp. was the least detected one (2.1%). Parasites were viable only in 50% oftested samples. The high percent of vegetable contamination detected by this study urge otheralternative methods for farming, irrigation and washing in the local community.