Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in the Islamic Republic of Iran

A national survey of the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in the Islamic Republic of Iran was made on a random sample of families covered by local health centres affiliated to the medical universities. Out of 53,995 people aged 2+ years, from 12,495 families (0.1% of all families in 1999), 45,128 stool samples were analysed by formalin-ether precipitation. Intestinal parasitic infections were found in 19.3% of the study population (19.7% male, 19.1% female). Giardia lamblia (10.9%), Ascaris lumbricoides (1.5%), Entamoeba histolytica (1.0%) and Enterobius vermicularis (0.5%) were the most common infections. The infection rate was highest in the 2-14 years age group (25.5%) and in rural residents (23.7%).