Is Gaza sandy shoreline region contaminated with human gastrointestinal parasites?

Abstract

The study was implemented to test if the sandy shoreline of Gaza city is contaminated with human gastrointestinal parasites or not and to determine the types of intestinal parasites and the extent of contamination. A total of 104 sand samples (52 dry sand and 52 wet sand) were analyzed during the summer season period. Samples were collected from the study area of about 12km along the seashore region of Gaza City. Dry samples and wet sand samples were analyzed using water-sedimentation technique and a light microscope. The results showed that the percentage of the parasitic contamination was 40.4% of the wet sand samples and 34.6% of the dry sand samples along the shoreline region of the Gaza City. The human gastrointestinal parasites detected were the following: Ascaris lumbricoides, S. stercoralis, E. vermicularis, E. histolytica/dispar, G. lamblia, E. coli and Taenia. spp. The findings showed that …