Abstract:
The consumption offresh vegetables serves as source ofimportant nutrients in the body; however, parasitic infection from
the consumption ofraw fruits and vegetables is on the increase. This study aimed at identifying the parasitic contamination of
Vegetables sold at Masaka market New Karu, Nasarawa State. A total of 240 samples of vegetables were examined by
sedimentation concentration after washing using normal saline. The overall prevalence of parasitic contamination was
52.5%. Fluted pumpkin (93.3%) was the most contaminated vegetable while cucumber and apple (16.7%) were the least
contaminated vegetables (P>0.05). Strongyloides stercoralis (28.9%) was the most frequently detected parasite followed by
Taenia spp (18.8%), Entamoeba coli (17.2%), Hookworm (13.3%), Entamoeba histolytica (8.6%), Ascaris lumbricoides
(7.8%) and Toxocara spp (5.5%) was the least detected parasite. The parasitic contamination ofdifferent vegetables shows
that Tomatoes and Lettuce had the highest poly-parasitic contamination of four species of parasites, whereas Apple and
Cucumber had the least poly-parasitic contamination of one parasite. Strongyloides stercoralis had the highest infestation
(37.5%) of the water samples used to refresh the vegetables. Vegetables that were washed before display for selling was
significantly associated with reduced parasitic contamination (P>0.05). Vegetables are potential sources oftransmission for
intestinal parasites in the study area, hence, proper washing offruits and cooking ofvegetables is required to reduce parasitic
infections.
