Identification of Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH) on Selected Vegetables in a Public Market

This study aimed to identify the Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH) on selected vegetable samples in a public market. The study was conducted between January 2021 to March 2021. A total of 165 vegetable samples were collected and grouped according to its type. Root crops consisted of carrots, radish, and sweet potatoes while leafy crops include cabbage, pechay, and lettuce. For the fruit crops, cucumbers, eggplant, and tomatoes, and lastly, bulb crops are garlic and spring onion. The vegetable samples were washed using normal saline and distilled water then examined by sedimentation technique, a process by letting particles suspended in water settle out of the suspension under gravity. The mixture of 10000?mL of physiological saline solution (0.9% sodium chloride) and 10000 mL distilled water was divided into 11 equal portions and used to rinse each type of vegetable samples. Then, the washing water was collected and left overnight to allow sedimentation then centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 15?minutes to separate the parasites from the washing water. The researchers prepared two slides per each sediment and examined it under the microscope using 10x, 40x, and 100x magnification. The soil-transmitted helminth found in the vegetable samples were Hookworms, Strongyloides stercoralis, Giardia spp., Ascaris lumbricoides, Entamoeba histolytica, Tapeworm, and Enterobius vermicularis. Cabbage is the most contaminated vegetable while eggplant is the least. Since vegetables are considered a good source of parasites in the study area, proper washing of vegetables before selling is significantly associated with decreased parasitic contamination.