Detection of intestinal parasites under the nails in primary schools children in Mosul City, Iraq.

Intestinal parasitic infections are widely prevalent among primary school children, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. School environments increase children's susceptibility to these infections, which can be transmitted directly or indirectly through contaminated food, water, hands, or fingernails. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasite eggs and larvae in the fingernails of primary school children in Mosul City. A total of 150 nail samples were collected from students aged 6–14 years (60 females and 90 males) across four schools. The samples were processed using normal saline, centrifuged, and examined microscopically by iodine or eosin staining of intestinal parasitic ova and cysts. This study found that 36.6% of the samples tested positive for the presence of intestinal parasite eggs/cysts in fingernails. Enterobius vermicularis eggs were present in 14.66% of the cases, while Entamoeba histolytica cysts were detected in 2.66%. Male children exhibited a higher rate of fingernail contamination with parasite ova/cysts (56.66%) compared to female children (23.33%), which was not significant (P=0.167). Among the parasites identified, Enterobius vermicularis was the most prevalent, being detected in 14.66% of the samples. This was followed by Hymenolepis nana (8.66%), Trichuris trichiura (3.33%), and Ascaris lumbricoides (0.66%). The recovered protozoan cysts included Giardia lamblia (6.66% ) and Entamoeba histolytica (2.66% ). The detection of parasite eggs or cysts under fingernails is indicative of faecal-oral contamination and may facilitate autoinfection as well as transmission to others. In conclusion, Many young students in Mosul were found to have parasite ova/cysts on their fingernails during the study period; however, the differences in contamination rates between age groups and genders were not found to be statistically significant. This underscores the importance of emphasising hand hygiene and nail maintenance to prevent the potential transmission of parasites.