A Study on the Frequency of Intestinal Parasites in Patients Referred to Laboratories of Two Hospitals Affiliated with Ardabil University of Medical Sciences In 2018

Parasitic diseases are one of the health problems of all societies and are considered as barriers to progress socioeconomic development, especially in most developing countries. This study evaluated the frequency of intestinal parasites in patients referred to hospitals affiliated with Ardabil University of Medical Sciences in 2018. a total of 409 stool samples were collected from laboratories of Imam Khomeini and Bouali hospitals and then transferred to the parasitology lab in the medical and paramedical school. Samples were evaluated using direct, concentration and culture methods. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21. Out of 409 samples, 22 cases (4.5%) were infected with intestinal parasites. Among them, 5.3% and 5.4% of infected cases were men and women respectively. Also, the rate of infection to the protozoans and helminths was 3.7% and 1.7% respectively. Among the positive cases, the highest percentage of infection was related to Giardia and Blastocystis.
The infection rate of each parasite among all patients and positive cases was 1.2% and 22.7% respectively. The present study showed that intestinal protozoan infection, especially Giardia lamblia and Blastocystis hominis are high in Ardabil city, and therefore special infection control measures are urgently needed.