Pattern of intestinal parasites among hospital patients at Tripoli Central Hospital, Libya

Background and Aim: Diagnosis of intestinal parasites is confirmed by the recovery of protozoan trophozoites and cysts, helminthes eggs, and larvae in stool samples in the clinical parasitological laboratory. In this study, we look at the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) in outpatient department and hospitalized patients from different age groups in Tripoli Central Hospital obtained from 2007 to 2009. Materials and Methods: We have used the traditional microscopic technique to diagnose IPIs in all received stool samples during the study period. Results: In total, 18,000 stool samples were examined and it was found that 15.7% of them had at least one parasite. The overall prevalence of intestinal protozoan parasites was as follows: Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar 5.1%, Entamoeba coli 10%, Giardia lamblia 8.1%, and Cryptosporidium parvum 1%, while the prevalence of intestinal helminthic parasites in this study was as follows: Enterobius vermicularis 5%, Ascaris lumbricoides 0.5%, and Strongyloides stercoralis 0.01%. Other species of intestinal helminthes are not widely prevalent in Libya. We have found a high prevalence of intestinal parasites, especially the intestinal protozoan parasites. The nonpathogenic protozoan, E. coli, had the highest prevalence rate (10.0%). Conclusion: We conducted the stool sample testing by routine ova and parasite methods, and a concentration technique increases the validity of the estimates.