IMPACT OF THE ENVIRONMENT ON DEVELOPMENT OF HELMINTH AND PROTOZOAN INVASIVE ELEMENTS AND CONTEMPORARY METHODS FOR SANITARY- PARASITOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTICS

Abstract

According to the World Health Organisation, more than 1.5 billion of the world population is affected by parasitic diseases caused by geohelminths. The number of persons suffering from foodborne and waterborne protozoan diseases is similar. In developed countries, including Bulgaria, systematic sanitary and parasitological studies of soil and water are the basis for monitoring and control in protecting public health. Occurrence and prevalence of human parasitic infections is determined by the peculiarities of life cycle of parasites, peculiarities of hosts as reservoir sources, the abiotic and biotic factors of the environment as a complex providing conditions for the development or sterilisation of different parasite stages, as well as socioeconomic factors that play a leading role in the whole epidemiological process. Systematic sanitary-parasitological studies require the application of classical and novel reliable, sensitive and practical diagnostic methods that are also easy to perform, economical and efficient enough.