Parasitic Contamination of Commonly Consumed Fresh Fruits Sold At Tiko and Limbe Municipality Markets, South West Region of Cameroon

Abstract

The disease transmission potential and safety of fruits sold in the cities of Limbe and Tiko, Cameroon, for consumption was assessed with respect to their contamination by ova and cysts of parasites. In sub- aharan-Africa, protozoan parasites and soil transmitted helminths are the leading intestinal parasites causing significant morbidity and mortality. This explains the frequency and high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in this region affecting nearly all inhabitants at some point of their lives. Fresh fruits are one of the main components of a healthy diet. A total of 424 different fruit types were randomly collected with 210 samples in the rainy season and 214 samples in the dry season from both towns for parasitological examination using normal saline sedimentation and zinc sulphate flotation techniques. The results showed that out of the 424 samples examined, 97 were contaminated with parasites giving an overall contamination rate of 22.9%. The rainy season had a higher contamination rate 29.5% than the dry season 16.4%. Among the fruits, mangoes, plum, pear, pawpaw were the most frequently contaminated and apples and watermelon were the least contaminated. The protozoans detected include E. histolytica/E. dispar (29.4%) being the most frequent, followed by E. coli (11.8%), Giardia lamblia, (6.1%) and Isospora belli (2.4%) being the least. The helminthic parasites detected included Ascaris lumbricoides (12.4%) being the most prevalent while the others were E. vermicularis (8.8%), T. trichuria(5.9%), Trichostrongyloides specie(5.9%), Taenia specie, F. buski, Ancylostoma specie, F. hepatica and O. sinensis 2.9% each. Fruits are still a means by which parasites are transmitted in the population considering the vast variety detected on different fruits and the high contamination rate. Therefore, emphasis should be put on educating the population about the importance of washing their fruits thoroughly and more than once before consumption. Vendors should also be educated on the proper means to display fruits for purchase by consumers and limit the touching of fruits by different consumers before purchase.