IDENTIFICATION OF STH EGG CONTAMINATION IN BASIL LEAVES AT PAAL DUA RESTAURANT IN MANADO CITY

Worm infections are infections that occur in the human body caused by worm parasites. Soil Transmitted Helminth (STH) is an intestinal nematode that requires soil to mature throughout its life stages, transitioning from a non-infectious form to an infectious form. STH infection can be caused by various things, one of which is by consuming raw vegetables. Fresh vegetables are a side dish that is commonly consumed by Indonesian people and one of them is basil leaves. This research was conducted in Paal Dua District, Manado City, totaling 7 sub-districts. The aim of the research was to see whether there was STH egg contamination on basil leaves served as fresh vegetables. This type of research is descriptive. Worm eggs examination uses the sedimentation method which has a high level of sensitivity. Samples for this study were taken from 25 lalapan restaurants, each of which was taken twice and examined at intervals of one week. The research results showed that 7 samples (28%) were positively contaminated with STH with the Ascaris lumbricoides species. The conclusion of this research is that there is STH worm egg contamination in samples of basil leaves served as fresh vegetables in Paal Dua District, Manado City. Therefore, it is very important to improve personal hygiene starting from how to wash fresh vegetables properly and correctly to how to store stock and even paying attention to clean and proper equipment so that this can minimize contamination of STH eggs in raw vegetables served as fresh vegetables, one of which is basil leaves.