Intestinal Parasitic Infections in People Referring to the Central Laboratory of Meshkin Shahr County, Ardabil Province, Iran

Background:Intestinal parasitic infections are still a considerable global public health problem. We aimed to determine the frequency of intestinal parasitic infections among people referring to the central laboratory of Meshkin Shahr City, Ardabil Province, Iran .Methods:In this cross-sectional survey, 460 fecal samples were collected ran-domly from persons referred to the central laboratory of Meshkin Shahr City, from January to June 2022. The samples were examined by direct wet-mount, Trichrome and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining, formalin ethyl ace-tate sedimentation, and agar plate culture. Results:The frequency of intestinal parasites was 15.7% (72 out of 460 cas-es), with some people with numerous intestinal parasites. The frequency of protozoan infections (13.9%) was higher than the helminthic infections (2.6%). Blastocystis spp.(8.1%) was the most prevalent detected intestinal protozoan. Entamoeba coli(5.7%),Dicrocoelium dendriticum (2.2%),Giardia lamblia (1.5%),Fasciola spp.(0.2%),andHymenolepis nana (0.2%) were other detected parasites. Conclusion:In-spite of betterment of the health condition in Iran and reduc-tion of parasitic infection, intestinal parasitic infections are still a considera-ble public health issue in some parts of Iran