Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Patients Referring to Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, Kashan, Central Iran, 2015-2018

Intestinal parasitic infections are among the most common diseases worldwide and are significant indicators of the health status of communities, especially in developing countries. This study aims to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites infection in patients referring to Kashan diagnostic laboratories from July 2015 to August 2018. This cross-sectional study was carried out on 6921 patients referring to medical diagnostic laboratories, Kashan, central Iran. Fecal specimens were examined by direct smear and formalin-ether concentration methods. The results together with risk factors including sex, age were recorded and analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS 16 software. Out of the 6921 individuals examined, 3636 (52.5%) were male and 3285 (47.5%) were female. Microscopy revealed the prevalence of parasitic infection by 4.96% (4.96 ± 0.5). Totally 5.1% of males and 4.6% of females had intestinal parasite infections. No significant association was seen between sex, seasons, and parasite infections. Rate of infection to intestinal parasites were  Blastocystis spp. (3.06%), Entamoeba coli (0.95%), Giardia intestinalis (0.59%), Iodamoeba butschlii (0.23%), Endolimax nana (0.20%), Entamoeba hartmanni (0.20%), Dientamoeba fragilis (0.14%), Chilomastix mesnili (0.07%), Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar (0.05%), Hymenolepis nana (0.01%) was the only intestinal worm that observed in one individual. The results showed that 4.48% of the examined individuals were infected with one parasite, 0.39% with two and 0.08% with 3 or more parasites. The prevalence of intestinal parasites in our study was lower than those from other areas of Iran and other countries, indicating an increase in health status as well as public awareness of infectious diseases.