Introduction: Parasitic diseases are among the most important infectious diseases and are considered to be a health issue in many communities. Food handlers could be responsible in the transmission of the parasites due to poor sanitation and lack of observing health principles. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in food handlers in the city of Qom in 2014.
 Material and Methods: In this descriptive study the prevalence of parasites in the food handlers of Qom was investigated. All the food handlers are required to undertake parasite tests in order to receive the health permit. The results of these tests were registered and evaluated. The data were interpreted and analyzed through SPSS 18 software and chi-square and T-Tests.
Results: Parasitic infection was observed in 112 (3.85%) out of 2925 samples. The positive samples of 101 (%90.17) samples were related to protozoan, and 11 (%9.83) samples were helminthes. Most of the parasitic infection was related to Giardia and Entamoeba coli. The lowest sample belonged to Hymenolepis nana. There was a statistical significance relationship between the educational level and parasitic infection rate (p=0.0032). However, the statistical significance relationship could not be observed between the type of food business and the extent of intestinal parasites Â
Conclusion: The results indicated a low number of food suppliers to have intestinal parasites. However, it is necessary to increase the hygienic controls that would lead to the health promotion of the food suppliers through continued education and workshops.
Balarak, D., M, , & Ansari, H. (2017). Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites among the Food Handlers in the City of Qom, 2014. Community Health Journal, 8(4), 20-28.
MLA
D Balarak; M; H Ansari. "Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites among the Food Handlers in the City of Qom, 2014". Community Health Journal, 8, 4, 2017, 20-28.
HARVARD
Balarak, D., M, , Ansari, H. (2017). 'Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites among the Food Handlers in the City of Qom, 2014', Community Health Journal, 8(4), pp. 20-28.
VANCOUVER
Balarak, D., M, , Ansari, H. Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites among the Food Handlers in the City of Qom, 2014. Community Health Journal, 2017; 8(4): 20-28.
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