PREVALENCE OF INTESTINAL PROTOZOAN PARASITIC INFECTIONS AMONG PEOPLE ATTENDING SEBHA CENTRAL LABORATORY IN SEBHA, LIBYA: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Abstract

Intestinal d protozoan parasites are still major public health problems in the world, particularly in developing countries. This retrospective study was conducted using data obtained from the Department of Parasitology of Sebha Central Laboratory in Sebha, Libya. A total of 740 stool samples were recorded from January to December, 2017. All samples were examined by direct wet smears using normal saline and Lugol’s iodine. The objective of this study was to determine the different types of intestinal protozoan in Sebha city. The results were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0, the Chi-square test was used to measure the statistical significant differences at level p<0.05. The overall prevalence rate of protozoan parasitic infections was 10.5% (78/740). Four species of protozoan parasites were detected as single infections: Blastocystis hominis (6.8%; 50/740), Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar (2.3%; 17/740), Giardia lamblia (0.9%; 7/740), and Entamoeba coli (0.3%; 2/740). Two samples were obtained with mixed infections: the first by Blastocystis hominis with Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar (0.1%; 1/740), and the second by Blastocystis hominis with Giardia lamblia (0.1%; 1/740). Prevalence of protozoan infections was insignificantly (p=0.740) higher in males, 10.9% (43/396) than females (10.2%; 35/344). The prevalence of protozoan infections was highest in the 10-19 years age group (14.1%, 14/99), and lowest in the 30-39 years age group (5.7%; 4/70), with no significant differences between the intestinal protozoan infection and age groups (p=0.641). According to the seasonal variations, the results revealed that the highest rate of infection was in November (20.8%, 11/53), followed by 19.6% in September (9/46), while the lowest infection was 4.3% in July (3/70). No significant differences were detected in the prevalence of infection between the different months (p=0.236).