Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of parasitic infection among the population of Ma ’an governorate. Methods: A retrospective analysis of laboratory records of stool specimens of patients seen in Ma'an hospital (in different specialties) during the period of 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009 was carried out for the detection of intestinal parasites. Results: The total number of stool samples in the survey examined in this retrospective study was 1 999, and the number and percentage of positive samples were 338 and 16.9%, respectively. The highest incidence of intestinal parasites was during summer months (June-October), while the lowest incidence was during winter months (December-January). Six different parasitic species were detected. The highest frequency was among males both adult and children and was higher in adult males and females than children (male and female). Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia (80.7% and 15.7%, respectively) were the commonest species detected while Entrobius vermicularis (0.9%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.6%), and hookworms (0.9%) were the least common. Conclusions: The results indicate that intestinal parasites in Ma'an governorate (south of Jordan) is not a major public health problem. Nevertheless, a comprehensive health education program and improvements to environmental sanitation should be developed to keep this health problem under control.

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