Screening Study of Changes Which have Occurred in The Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites Species in Syria Between 2006-2011

An exploratory study to identify changes in the prevalence of parasite species in Syria in recent years (2006-2011) after the complete absence of some of them and to clarify the reasons for this decline in parasites. This study was conducted on basic education students in seven major areas across Syrian governorates between 2006 and 2011. A total of 4,152 stool samples were examined, taken from children in the basic education stage in seven areas: Damascus and its countryside, the countryside of Daraa and the Qalamoun area, Hama and its countryside, the countryside of Raqqa, and the countryside of Tartous. Results: The results showed that there were 1,290 samples positive for parasites, which is 31.07%, and 481 of these samples contained parasites pathogenic to humans, which is 37.28%. The pathogenic parasites observed in the study by prevalence were as follows: protozoa: Giardia lamblia 8.48%, Entamoeba histolytica 1.06%, Trichomonas hominis 0.14%; helminths: Hymenolepis nana 1.20%, Enterobius vermicularis 0.43%, Trichuris trichiura 0.17%, Strongyloides stercoralis 0.05%, and Ascaris 0.05%. As for the non-pathogenic parasites, their prevalence was as follows: Endolimax nana 13.15%, Colonial variant 5.73% and Butschili's iodinated variant 0.60%. Conclusions: It was observed that the parasites Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium, which are pathogenic parasites, are the most widespread in Syria, whereas other types of parasites have become very rare, unlike in previous years.This version is archived in the Arab International University (AIU) repository for open access and dissemination purposes. The content of this paper has not been modified from the original publication.For more information, please visit the official repository of Arab International University (AIU):https://www.aiu.edu.sy