Resumo

CAZORLA, Dalmiro; MORALES, Pedro; CHIRINOS, Maryoris  e  ACOSTA, María Eugenia. Parasitological evaluation of vegetables commercially traded in Coro, Falcón state, Venezuela. Bol Mal Salud Amb [online]. 2009, vol.49, n.1, pp.117-125. ISSN 1690-4648.

The consumption of raw vegetables is a major way in the transmission of intestinal parasitic infections. Between January and April 2006, a total of 127 samples from 10 different vegetable species were randomly selected from markets and supermarkets located in Coro, Falcon state, Venezuela. Botanical samples were washed with sterile distillated water allowing sedimentation at room temperature for 24h. Five mL of sediment were centrifuged at 331 relative centrifuge force (RCF) x g for 3-5min. Sediment was examined in lugol and Kinyoun stained slides through light microscopy. The global prevalence of the parasites was 32.28% (41/127), with higher contamination percentages for celery (100%), cabbage (64.29%) and lettucee (44.44%). Ascaris sp. (11.81%) and the intestinal coccidians Cyclospora sp. (8.66%) and Cryptosporidium sp. (5.1%) were the most common isolated parasites. There was not found a statistically significant association between type of trading local (private or popular) and contamination frequencies (P > 0.05). In relation to crop origin, a statistically significant difference was only detected between global percentages of contaminated vegetables coming from Andean and Falcon state regions (X²=7.61; P= 0.01). The potential role of vegetables in the transmission of foodborne parasitic infections in Coro city, Falcon state, Venezuela, is suggested. A continuous sanitary procedure during the pre-and post-harvest crop process and an obligatory implementation of coproscopic testing for vegetable handlers, is recommended.

Palavras-chave : Intestinal parasites; vegetables; contamination; sanitary evaluation; Venezuela.