Prevalence of Intestinal Protozoan Parasitic Infection among Attending Patients to King Salman General Hospital in Hail City, Saudi Arabia: A 3-years Retrospective Study
Published: 2022-04-07
Page: 91-97
Issue: 2022 - Volume 5 [Issue 3]
Talal Alharazi *
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hail, Hail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Taiz University, Taiz, Yemen.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Objective: A retrospective study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal protozoans detected during routine stool examinations between 2018 and 2021 in King Salman general hospitals in Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: Obtaining data from logbooks and reports was done with the help of laboratory technicians and with the permission of the hospital manager.
Results: In this study, 300 patients were examined for parasites. 51 of these patients had five different parasite species infected with them, representing a prevalence of 17.01%. These parasites were Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (7.3%), Giardia lamblia (5.5%), Cryptosporidium spp. (4.4%), and Blastocystis hominis (0.3%). The prevalence rate of protozoan infection among males and females was 17.9% and 15.9%, respectively. In addition, the prevalence of infection among patients was presented based on nationality and age group.
Conclusions: In the Hail region of Saudi Arabia, intestinal protozoan infections are still a public health concern. In order to develop effective prevention and control strategies, it is essential to update the epidemiologic survey frequently using appropriate statistical methods.
Keywords: Intestinal protozoa, hail, Saudi Arabia, retrospective study, prevalence