الفهرس 
AIM OF THE WORKOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Vegetables are essential for good health, and they form a major component of the human diet in every family. They are vital energy contributors that are depended upon by all levels of human as food supplement or nutrient. Raw vegetables can be agents of transmission of intestinal parasites. Although contamination of vegetables may occur in a variety of ways such as contact with the soil, the water used for irrigation, contact pre and post-harvest. In most cases, it is associated with the water used for irrigation.
This study aimed to assess the contamination of raw eaten vegetables with intestinal parasites and Fasciola spp which are clinical and epidemiological public health problems. Also this study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in water used for irrigation. This work was conducted in Abis II village, which is located south east of Alexandria city, Egypt, in the period from February to May 2012.
The samples were collected and treated as follows:-
A total of 401vegetable samples included 39 samples of Lettuce, 50 samples of dill, 61 samples of radish, 50 samples of carrot, 40 samples of parsley, 35 samples of coriander, 40 samples of cabbage, 40 samples of cucumber, and 46 samples of arugula, these samples were randomly collected from different stations according to the vital source of irrigation water{directly at canal(110 samples ) ,at 50m (114 samples ), at 100m (85 samples ) and at 150m (92 samples)}, the samples were treated with Bailenger technique and examined for detection of intestinal parasitic ova and cysts ,a part of each sample was stained with Ziehl-Neelsen technique and examined for oocysts of intestinal coccidia.
Other 80 vegetable samples included 60 samples of lettuce and 20 samples of arugula were collected and dipped in 10% acetic acid, washed with water then left for about 10 hours for sedimentation to take place, the residue was examined for Fasciola metacercariae.
A total of 24 samples of 1 liter of water used for irrigation were collected from eight stations (three samples from each station) , water samples were treated by two techniques (Modified Bailenger method and Chang and Kabler technique) and examined to assess the contamination of irrigation water with parasitic eggs, cysts , a part of each sample was stained with Ziehl-Neelsen technique and examined for oocysts of intestinal coccidia.
The study revealed the following results:-
• Out of 401 vegetable samples, 249(62.1%) were contaminated with intestinal parasitic eggs and /or cysts.
• The parasites detected were Cyclospora spp oocyst (47.6%), Cryptosporidium spp (47.4%), E. coli (6%), Strongyloides stercoralis (2%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.8%), Entamoeba histolytica (0.3%), hookworm species (0.3%), Iodamoeba butschlii cysts (0.3%), Enterobius vermicularis (0.3%), and Toxocara spp (0.3%).
• Overall, the highest parasitic contamination was detected in carrot and dill (98%) and parsley (67.5%). Cucumber (20%) and cabbage (15%) were the lowest contaminated samples.
• Among the vegetable samples examined for Fasciola spp metacercaria 17(21.25%) were positive; arugula was more contaminated than lettuce. (30% and 18.3% respectively).
• Out of 24 water samples used for irrigation, 41.7% were contaminated with different stages of intestinal parasites. Only water samples collected from the branches were contaminated while samples collected from the main source (El Mahmoudeya canal) were negative from any parasitic species.
• Cyclospora spp oocysts (20.8%) was the most prevalent parasite in irrigation water samples followed by E. coli (12.5%), Cryptosporidium spp (8.3%), and Ascaris lumbricoides (8.3%), hookworm (4.2%), Toxocoara spp (4.2%) and Isospora belli (4.2%).
• This study showed the high potential for human infection with parasites through consumption of raw vegetables from farms in Abis II. This is an indication that humans are always at risk of infection especially as vegetables is naturally popular in the diet of people of all classes.