Parasitic Contamination in Five Leafy Vegetables Collected from Open Marketplaces in Giza, Egypt

Background: Leafy vegetables could be contaminated with parasitic infective stages, making them possible sources of human parasitic infections. This study aimed to assess parasites contamination level among five different leafy vegetables collected from open marketplaces in Giza, Egypt. Methods: Hundred vegetable samples were collected from dill, parsley, coriander, rocca, and mint (20 of each). Samples were processed using sedimentation and concentration methods and the sediments were examined as wet smears either unstained or stained with Lugol's iodine. Also, modified trichrome and Ziehl-Neelsen stains were used to detect Microsporidia spores and coccidian oocysts. Statistical software SPSS version 20 was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 86% of the examined samples were found contaminated with parasite's eggs, cysts, oocysts, and larvae. Coriander was the most contaminated vegetable with contamination rate of 95% while dill was the least contaminated (80%). Also, protozoan parasites contamination rate (77.1%) was higher than helminths parasites contamination rate (22.9%). Entamoeba histolytica/dispar was the most prevalent parasite (40.6%) followed by Blastocystis hominis (39.5%), Ascaris lumbricoides (18.6%), Cyclospora spp. (15.11%), Giardia lamblia (11.6%), E. coli (9.3%); while Cryptosporidium spp., Iodamoeba bütschlii, Trichuris trichiura, Enterobius vermicularis, Fasciola, and hookworms’ eggs were the least prevalent parasites (1.1%). Conclusion: Leafy vegetables in Giza, Egypt had an extremely high parasite contamination rate. So, consuming such vegetables without proper washing facilitates transmission of parasitic infections which could pose a major health risk to Egyptians.