Prevalence of intestinal parasitosis in Reggio Emilia (Italy) during 2009

: The purpose of this survey is to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasites in Reggio Emilia during 2009. We analyzed 1961 samples from 1503 subjects: a copro-parasitological standard examination was performed in 1416 of the subjects and the scotch-test in the remaining 87. Of the 1503 subjects examined, 111 (7.4%) were positive for one or more parasites. Pathogenic parasites were found in 44 subjects (39.6% of all positive subjects) and non-pathogenic protozoa were found in 67 subjects (60.4% of all positive subjects). The most commonly found species were, of the protozoa, Blastocystis hominis, Dientamoeba fragilis and Giardia intestinalis and, of the helminths, Enterobius vermicularis and Taenia Spp. This epidemiological survey shows the need to pay more attention to immigrants and travellers to endemic areas as potential carriers of major parasitic infections in the community.