Enteric Protozoan Parasites in Rural Areas of Bandar-Abbas, Southern Iran: Comparison of Past and Present Situation

BACKGROUND: The main goal was to address the prevalence of enteric protozoan parasites in rural areas of Bandar-Abbas, southern Iran and to compare the results with the only conducted study in 1978. METHODS: This descriptive study was performed from 2009 through 2010 on the 565 fecal samples. Formalin-ether concentration technique was performed and the analysis was carried out using Chi-square test in SPSS software version 13.5. Finally, the comparison of our results with the only previous study which was accomplished by Sheiban and Rezaeian in 1978 was done. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of the protozoan parasites was 48.8%. However, the prevalence of pathogen parasites was 23%. Previous research in 1978 showed 80.4% infectivity. The most protozoan parasites were Blastocystis hominis (25.53%), Giardia lamblia (17.2%) and Entamoeba coli (15.95%). Previous study in 1978 found Entamoeba coli as the most common protozoa. Our finding revealed that the rate of single infectivity was much higher compared to previous research. The most frequency of infection was in children. CONCLUSION: The remarkable decrease of protozoan parasites is mainly due to progress in health care in the villages; however more effort should be done with the goal of eradicating infectious agents.