Prevalence of intestinal parasites in selected vegetables at ma-jor public markets in Metro Manila,Philippines

摘要

Objective:This study aims to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites infesting the vegetable foodstuffs and determine the parasitological profile of the vegetable foodstuffs examined.Methods:About 200 randomly sampled vegetable foodstuffs obtained from the vendors of the Balintawak and Divisoria public markets were ex-amined for the occurrence of intestinal parasites.Results:A total of 119 (59.5 %)vegetable foodstuffs exam-ined were tested positive.The most common parasite found was the Ascaris lumbricoides.No significant differ-ences between the prevalence of intestinal parasites at the two public markets were found (P >0.05).Con-clusion:The vegetables can be a potential source of parasitic infection.