1. Practical parasitology courses and infection with intestinal parasites in the students
Sh. Fallahi., A. Rostami, F. Ebrahimzadeh, Y. Pournia
Introduction & Objectives
Students who are in education in research or educational laboratories of parasitology, as well as health care workers providing patients with care, are at the risk of becoming infected with parasites through accidental exposure, which may or may not be recognized when they occur. Parasitic infection can cause significant morbidity and can potentially lead to growth, nutritional, and developmental impairment. The main purpose of this study was to identify possible positive cases of intestinal parasitic infection among students who took practical parasitology courses compared with two control groups in Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Lorestan province, west Iran, in 2013.
P. Code (A )
Material and Methods
A total of 272 subjects from various majors were invited to participate in the study. Data on age, sex, place of residence, taking or not taking practical parasitology courses, and hand washing after practice was collected via questionnaires. Three stool samples on three consecutive days were collected from each student. To diagnose the presence of parasitic infections, Direct Fecal Smear (DFS) and Formalin-Ether Concentration Test (FECT) were used.
Results
The prevalence rate of intestinal parasitic infection among the students was 19.11% while this rate among the students who took practical parasitology courses (48/214, 22.42%) was higher than the control group (4/58, 6.9%). The most frequently observed intestinal parasites were Blastocystis hominis (5.51%), Giardia lamblia (4.41%) and Entamoeba coli (3.67%) respectively. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between age group, sex and place of residence in the infection with intestinal parasites. However, there was a significant difference between taking or not taking practical parasitology courses and hand washing after practice in the infection with intestinal parasites (P<0.05).
Conclusion
Regarding the results of this study, infection with protozoan parasites among students of different majors was higher than helminthes parasitic infections. Moreover, the findings showed that transmission of pathogenic and nonpathogenic parasites in the educational course of practical parasitology could take place and must be taken into careful consideration. Hence, health education and prevention methods about routes of infection with intestinal parasites in every place especially in parasitology laboratories must be considered.