The Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic
Infestations and the Evaluation of
Different Concentration Techniques
of the Stool Examination
1188-1191
Correspondence
Tutor, Department of Microbiology,
Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences,
Phone: +917411741148
E-mail: parameshwarappakd@gmail.com
Aims and Objectives:
The intestinal parasitic infections which are prevalent in the developing countries may even be more important than the bacterial infections. In India, malnutrition, unhygienic conditions, the improper disposal of sewage, the non-availability of potable water supplies in the rural and the urban areas, the indifferent attitude of the population towards personal hygiene, their low socio-economic status and the low literacy rates are responsible for the high rates of intestinal parasitic infections. In view of the above facts, the present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of the intestinal parasitic infections in the urban and the rural populations which came under a tertiary care teaching hospital.
Material and Methods:
A total of 1000 stool samples were collected from the rural and the urban populations and each stool sample was examined by: 1. Gross examination 2. Direct microscopic examination by using saline and iodine preparations and by 3. Concentration techniques like simple slat flotation, Zinc sulphate centrifugal floatation, formol-ether concentration and modified formol-ether concentration.
Results:
The prevalence of the intestinal parasitic infections was higher in the rural population. A male predominance was noted (33.29%) in both the populations. Children who were between 10-20 years of age had the highest prevalence of the parasitic infestations. The common parasite which was isolated from both the populations was Entamoeba histolytica, with a prevalence rate of 65.57%, followed by Ascaris lumbricoides.
Conclusion:
The modified formol-ether sedimentation procedure showed a high sensitivity for the parasitic detection. The supplementation of the routine method with floatation and the sedimentation technique will improve the diagnostic accuracy when this is compared to the routine method alone.