The Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections among the People Living in the Central Areas of Mazandaran Province( 2009 – 2010)

Background and Objective: Intestinal parasites, esp. giardiasis are the mostcommon gastrointestinal infection disorders in the world, especially in north ofIran. The aim of present study was to determine the prevalence of parasiticinfections in the stool samples of the people living in the central areas ofMazandaran province.Material and Methods: In this descriptive study, 4223 human fecal samples wererandomly collected from different areas in different seasons in the central regionsof Mazandaran province, from Oct 2009 to Sept 2010. The Samples were assessedby direct smear and formalin-ether method. We analyzed the data by using Chisquareand T test.Results: Of 4223 stool samples, 75 (17.9%) have at least one type of parasite. Therate of infection with intestinal protozoan is 15.9% including 8.1% with B.Hominis, 6.4% with G. lamblia, and 1.9% with intestinal worms (S. stercolaris andStrongyloides larvae) .The prevalence rate is 6.1% in rural, 5.9% in urban and5.8% in mountainous areas. Considering the seasons, the prevalence in the urbanarea in summer (4/39%), rural area in spring (32%) and mountainous area in fall(28%) are reported. Statistically no significant differences between differentregions and seasons have been observed (P> 0.05).Conclusion: Based on the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections, especiallyin the central part of Mazandaran province in different seasons, early diagnosis andtreatment of the patients and public health promotion could be effective toprevent and control these infections in north of Iran.Keywords: Intestinal parasitic; Prevalence; Mazandaran Province