Watering of vegetables in developing countries including Ethiopia is done using untreated
wastewater and raw manure of domestic animal origin is used as fertilizer. Thus, vegetables are
considered to be the principal sources of human infection with bacterial, protozoan and helminth
parasites. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the rate of parasitological
contamination of pre-harvest vegetables in Mekelle city and its suburban village, ‘Mariam
Dahan’. Pre-harvest vegetables were collected from the field during the dry season, washed
using physiological saline solution, allowed to sediment overnight, centrifuged and examined
microscopically for infective stages of intestinal parasites. Out of the vegetable samples
examined, 32.41% in Mekelle city and 30.49% in ‘Mariam Dahan’, contained at least one
parasitic contaminant. Strongyloides stercoralis was most encountered parasitic contaminant in
the study areas, followed by, Taenia and Entamoeba spp. Highest rate of parasitic contamination
was detected on Swiss chard, that was 45.5 and 41.67% in Mekelle city and ‘Mariam Dahan’,
respectively. Occurrence of infective stages of intestinal parasites on wastewater- irrigated
vegetables may pose public health hazards to farming communities in the study areas. Therefore,
evaluation and surveillance of parasitological quality of vegetables is crucial in an attempt to
control vegetable-transmitted parasitic infections.