Parasitological examination of slender Amaranth Vegetable (Amaranthus viridis) and Bush Okra (Corchorus olitorius) from farms and markets in communities around Edu LGA, Kwara State
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Date
2024-07
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Publisher
University of PortHarcourt
Abstract
dis) and bush-okra (Corchorus olitorius) from farms and markets in the communities around Edu
Local Government Area of Kwara State of Nigeria between January and July 2023 for evaluation of parasites that
infect humans using the sedimentation method. Parasites isolated from vegetable samples from the farm showed that
Ascaris lumbricoides (17.6%) was the most encountered followed by Entamoeba histolytica (11.2%) and the least
was Enterobius vermicularis (3.2%). In the market samples, Ascaris (11.2%) was the most prevalent parasites
encountered while Trichuris trichiura, Strongyloides stercoralis and E. vermicularis (1.6%) were the least prevalent.
One hundred and fourteen (45.6%) samples were contaminated with various parasites. Of the total contaminated
vegetable, 74/125 (59.2%) were found in the farm vegetables while 40/125 (32.0%) were encountered in the market
vegetables. Corchorus olitorius were found to be more contaminated in both the farms 39/110 (35.5%) and market
23/110 (20.9%). From the study, it was seen that the rate of contamination was highest in the month of July, while
the month of January had the least rate of contamination for both farm and market vegetable samples. The difference
in the contamination rate in both farm and market samples were seen to be significant (P < 0.05). This study
recommends proper washing of vegetables prior to consumption and proper sewage treatment before usage as
fertilizer.
Description
Keywords
contamination, vegetables, parasites, waste water
Citation
Parasitological, farms, markets, Edu LGA