PREVALENCE OF HELMINTH CONTAMINATION OF FRESH VEGETABLES FROM CULTIVATION PLOTS IN BANG KHLA DISTRICT, CHACHOENGSAO PROVINCE, THAILAND

Abstract

Intestinal helminthic parasites pose a serious threat to public health.  The prevalence of helminth contamination in fresh vegetables collected from nine farms in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand was investigated.  Sedimentation technique was used to screen 359 fresh vegetable samples for helminths following washing with a detergent solution.  The overall 38% prevalence of helminth contamination in the study highlighted the widespread nature of this issue.  Of the nine vegetables, 63% of lettuce had the highest proportion of contamination, followed by 51% for coriander, 44% for celery, 41% for sweet basil, 37% for hoary basil, 34% for spring onion, 32% for kale, 24% for water spinach, and 15% for yearlong beans.  Six genera of helminths were identified, present in both egg and larval stages, namely, Ancylostomatoidea (hookworm), Ascaris spp, Strongyloides spp, Taenia spp, Trichuris spp, and Toxocara spp.  Of note, hookworms were the most prevalent helminth in egg (8%) and larval (15%) stages.  Contamination by the helminths significantly differed among the nine vegetables (p-value = 0.0003, using the Chi-square test).  The high prevalence of helminth contamination in fresh vegetables obtained from local farms in this province raises concerns about potential transmission to humans.  This finding underscores the critical importance of stringent hygiene practices, such as thorough washing, disinfection and proper cooking, to ensure vegetables are devoid of parasitic and pathogenic contaminants.  Education and communication of these measures will assist public awareness of proper food handling practices to ensure vegetables are safe for human consumption.