Epidemiology of intestinal parasitosis in the population of Agadir City, Morocco

Abstract

Intestinal parasitosis in Morocco represents a real public health problem given the promiscuity and sanitary facilities that prevail in some regions, Agadir city is not spared. To determine the epidemiological profile of intestinal parasitosis in this population, a retrospective study was conducted over a period of five years in the medical biology laboratories. 6201subjects have benefited from at least one parasitological stool examination (PSE) including an analysis in the fresh state, after staining with Lugol and finally after concentration by the technique of Willis and Ritchie; 933 examinations were positive with a simple parasitic index (SPI) at 15.04%. Our study also included 1105 children of whom 238 were positive with a higher SPI at 21.53%. The average age of our patients was 28 years old. Among the parasites encountered, protozoa were present in 92.53% of cases. Blastocystis hominis were the most common with 43.2%, followed by amoebae (40.7%), flagellates (8%), helminths (7.46%) and lastly coccidia (0.62%). Giardia intestinalis appeared to be the most dominant pathogenic parasite in children and was responsible in 20% of stature–weight growth delay cases. The different results recorded are roughly comparable to the data reported by similar studies. Despite the urban origin of our population, the prevalence of intestinal parasitism is not negligible. It is still necessary to insist on the rigorous respect of hygiene rules against orofaecal contamination, as well as the realization of similar studies in the rural environment to establish more precise epidemiological profile of intestinal parasitosis in this region.