An Assessment of Helminthes Ova on Ready to Eat Vegetables Within Kaduna Metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

Intestinal parasitic diseases are still a public health problem in the developing countries, probably due to poor sanitation and inadequate personal hygiene. Sixty (60) fresh vegetables comprising of 30 carrot (Daunts carota) and 30 garden egg (Solamun aethiopicum) were collected from farmers within Kaduna metropolis and examined using simple ordinary sedimentation concentration method for the presence of helminthes ova. Out of the 60 samples examined, 13(21%) samples were positive for helminthes contamination. Four helminthes eggs were detected, which include Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm, Schistosoma mansoni and Fasciola species, with percentage occurrence of 3(5%), 5(8.3%), 4(6.7%) and 1(1.7%) respectively. Higher prevalence was recorded in carrot 9(30%) compared to 4(13.3%) recorded in garden egg. The study has revealed the potential risk of contracting intestinal infections through ingestion of locally grown, unwashed vegetables even though the p-value was 0.208 which is greater than 0.05, hence there was no statistical significant difference.