Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites in the investigated samples in the Central Laboratory and Shahid Sadoughi Hospital Laboratory of Yazd, Iran

Introduction: Today, in spite of the progress made in all sciences especially in medicine and health, parasitic diseases are still a major health and economic problem in many countries, especially developing countries. These countries are losing a lot of manpower, consuming high costs and time in order to eradicate and control the parasites; therefore, it has caused many problems. In this study, the prevalence of intestinal parasites in the specimens sent to the Central Laboratory and also Shahid Sadoughi Hospital laboratory in Yazd during 2015-2016 was investigated based on age, sex and season. Methods: The sampling method was as easy and with the census from total of referrals to the Central Laboratory and also Shahid Sadoughi Hospital laboratory of Yazd during 2015-2016. Most of the stool specimens were prepared in three steps and one step by direct method (Physiology serum and Lugol's solution) and then were examined by the light microscope. Results: 40351 cases were investigated. The highest number of referrals and positive cases were related to the summer season and the least positive cases were related to the winter season. The age groups of 0-10 and 30-40 years old had the highest levels of infection, respectively. There was a significant relationship between age and infection prevalence (P=0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the frequency of intestinal parasites in Yazd province was low due to warm and dry weather and the fit health level was low and significantly decreased compared to previous years, but similar to other parts of the country, the highest prevalence was related to low ages and Giardia and Blastocystis hominis