Contamination assessment of Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. cysts in fresh green vegetables collected from farms and markets of Koya city, Erbil Province of Kurdistan region, Iraq

Fresh vegetables are the important part of a healthy diet and they are usually contaminated with protozoan parasites. These protozoa can be a threat to the public health by consumption of raw or minimal processing vegetables and they may serve as vehicles for transmission of intestinal protozoan parasites. However, comparative evidence on the occurrence of Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. in vegetables from different points of the food supply chain in Koya City in Iraq remains limited. This study aimed to determine and compare the prevalence and contamination levels of cysts for Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. in fresh vegetables collected directly from farms and retail markets of Koya City, and to assess whether contamination between these two collection places. A cross-sectional study was conducted using fresh vegetables samples collected from selected farms and markets. Four hundred vegetable samples including parsley, leek, radish, celery and green onion were investigated. Samples were processed using appropriate washing, concentration, and microscopic examination procedures for detection of Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. cysts. The prevalence of each parasite was calculated and compared between farm and market collected vegetables. Associations between contamination and collected place and vegetable type was also evaluated using appropriate statistical methods. Results showed that the contamination rate of cysts for Entamoeba spp. and Giardia spp. were 15% and 10.25%, respectively. Parsley had the highest contamination among the vegetables and it was 4% from Entamoeba spp. Also, celery had the highest contamination with 3.75% for Giardia spp. The contamination rate of raw vegetables collected from the farm with 14% was higher than those collected from the market with 11.25%. It was concluded that the Entamoeba spp. was the most contamination in examined raw vegetables and the contamination rate of Giardia spp. and Entamoeba spp. in raw vegetables obtained from farm were higher than market. The findings can contribute baseline epidemiological information on intestinal protozoan contamination of fresh vegetables in Koya City and support improved hygiene practices in vegetable production, handling, transportation, marketing and consumption. Therefore, the health administration should provide a public education on prevention of fecal-oral transmission through eating fresh raw vegetables and the consumers also should properly wash and disinfect the raw vegetables before consumption.