<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Cooks have an important role in the dissemination and transmission of enteropathogenic microorganisms, including intestinal parasites such as <italic>Blastocystis</italic> sp. responsible for blastocystosis.
Blastocystis is a unicellular, anaerobic, eukaryotic protist that colonizes the intestinal tract of many hosts. It is the most common parasite found in human stool. It can be the cause of acute digestive disorders which could lead to chronic syndromes such as irritable bowel syndrome. The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence of this protozoan in cooks in the Fez-Meknes region. This is a retrospective descriptive analytical study carried out in the Parasitology-Mycology laboratory of the Moulay Ismail Military Hospital in Meknes.
Out of a total of 200 parasitological examinations of cooks’ stools, 88 (44 %) cases were positive for intestinal parasites. <italic>Blastocystis</italic> sp. is the most frequently encountered protozoan in our study. It represents 39.78 % of those infected. It is associated in 48.57 % of cases with another intestinal parasite. <italic>Dientamoeba fragilis</italic> (<italic>D. fragilis</italic>) is the most found in 31.43 % of co-infections, respectively followed by <italic>Entamoeba coli</italic> (<italic>E. coli</italic>) (8.57 %), <italic>Endolimax nana</italic> (<italic>E. nana</italic>) (5.71 %) and <italic>Pseudolimax boutschlii</italic> (<italic>P. boutschlii</italic>) (2.86 %).
Our results showed a high prevalence of <italic>Blastocystis</italic> sp. in the kitchen staff population. These workers must be considered as reservoirs of this microorganism, and therefore a source of infection in those around them. Consequently, preventive measures are necessary, including raising awareness among this population in order to effectively fight against the infestation by this protozoan in particular and other parasites in general.
</abstract>

Cooks have an important role in the dissemination and transmission of enteropathogenic microorganisms, including intestinal parasites such as Blastocystis sp. responsible for blastocystosis.
Blastocystis is a unicellular, anaerobic, eukaryotic protist that colonizes the intestinal tract of many hosts. It is the most common parasite found in human stool. It can be the cause of acute digestive disorders which could lead to chronic syndromes such as irritable bowel syndrome. The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence of this protozoan in cooks in the Fez-Meknes region. This is a retrospective descriptive analytical study carried out in the Parasitology-Mycology laboratory of the Moulay Ismail Military Hospital in Meknes.
Out of a total of 200 parasitological examinations of cooks’ stools, 88 (44 %) cases were positive for intestinal parasites. Blastocystis sp. is the most frequently encountered protozoan in our study. It represents 39.78 % of those infected. It is associated in 48.57 % of cases with another intestinal parasite. Dientamoeba fragilis (D. fragilis) is the most found in 31.43 % of co-infections, respectively followed by Entamoeba coli (E. coli) (8.57 %), Endolimax nana (E. nana) (5.71 %) and Pseudolimax boutschlii (P. boutschlii) (2.86 %).
Our results showed a high prevalence of Blastocystis sp. in the kitchen staff population. These workers must be considered as reservoirs of this microorganism, and therefore a source of infection in those around them. Consequently, preventive measures are necessary, including raising awareness among this population in order to effectively fight against the infestation by this protozoan in particular and other parasites in general.

Prevalence of <italic>Blastocystis</italic> sp. among cooks in the region of Fez-Meknes (Morocco)

Human Pathology, Biomedicine and Environment Laboratory

Helminthologia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Prevalence of  sp. among cooks in the region of Fez-Meknes (Morocco)

Cooks have an important role in the dissemination and transmission of enteropathogenic microorganisms, including intestinal parasites such as Blastocystis sp....

Variable	Totaln (%)	Parasitic infectionn (%)	p – value
Sex
Male	192 (96)	83 (94.32)	0.284
Female	8 (4)	5 (5.68)

Age group
30 – 34	27 (13.5)	11 (12.5)	0.792
35 – 39	137 (68.5)	61 (69.32)
40 – 45	36 (18)	16 (18.18)

	Parasite	Number of parasitized subjects	SPIp1 (%)	SPIp2 (%)	Parasitic index in relation to parasitized subjects (%)
Amoebas	Entamoeba coli	27	13.5	23.90	30.68
	Entamoeba histolytica/E.dispar	2	1	1.77	2.27
	Endolimax nana	16	8	14.16	18.18
	Pseudolimax boutschlii	3	1.5	2.65	3.41
	Total	48	24	42.48	54.54

Flagellates	Giardia intestinalis	2	1	1.77	2.27
	Chilomastix mesnilii	3	1.5	2.65	3.41
	Dientamoeba fragilis	25	12.5	22.12	28.41
	Total	30	15	26.54	34.10

Blastocystis	Blastocystis sp.	35	17.5	30.97	39.77

Variable	Total number of infected subjectsn (%)	Infection with Blastocystis sp.n (%)	p-value
Sex
Male	192 (96)	34 (97.14)	0.706
Female	8 (4)	1 (2.86)

Age group
30 – 34	27 (13.5)	5 (14.29)	0.888
35 – 39	137 (68.5)	23 (65.71)
40 – 45	36 (18)	7 (20)

Prevalence of Blastocystis sp. among cooks in the region of Fez-Meknes (Morocco)

Publicado en línea: 04 jun 2023

Páginas: 36 - 43

Recibido: 30 dic 2021

Aceptado: 30 dic 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2023-0002

Palabras clave
sp., Prevalence, Cooks, Co-infections, Protozoa

© 2023 M. Boutahar et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections, as determined by analysis of stool specimens, according to age group and sex of 200 food handlers in the Parasitology-Mycology laboratory of the Moulay Ismail Military Hospital in Meknes.

Prevalence of different parasites found.

Prevalence of Blastocystis sp. as determined by analysis of stool specimens, according to age group and sex of 200 food handlers in the Parasitology-Mycology laboratory of the Moulay Ismail Military Hospital in Meknes.

Prevalence of Blastocystis sp. among cooks in the region of Fez-Meknes (Morocco)

Publicado en línea: 04 jun 2023

Páginas: 36 - 43

Recibido: 30 dic 2021

Aceptado: 30 dic 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2023-0002

Palabras clavesp., Prevalence, Cooks, Co-infections, Protozoa

© 2023 M. Boutahar et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections, as determined by analysis of stool specimens, according to age group and sex of 200 food handlers in the Parasitology-Mycology laboratory of the Moulay Ismail Military Hospital in Meknes.

Prevalence of different parasites found.

Prevalence of Blastocystis sp. as determined by analysis of stool specimens, according to age group and sex of 200 food handlers in the Parasitology-Mycology laboratory of the Moulay Ismail Military Hospital in Meknes.

Palabras clave
sp., Prevalence, Cooks, Co-infections, Protozoa