Background: For a healthy diet, people have been encouraged to eat lots of raw (fresh) vegetables and
these can serve as vehicles of transmitting enteric parasitic pathogens throughout the process of planting
to consumption. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of helminth parasites
found on vegetables sold in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria.
Methods: A total of 1130 samples of fresh salad vegetables obtained from retail markets were examined
for helminth eggs and larvae by using standard methods.
Results: Out of the 300 lettuce, 250 cabbage, 200 garden egg, 150 carrot, 130 cucumber and 100 greenpeppers
samples examined, eggs of Ascaris spp., hookworm, Trichuris spp., Taenia/Echinococcus spp., and
Strongyloides stercoralis were detected in 0.5%, 1.2%, 0.5%, 0.5%, and 0.6% respectively of all samples. The
lettuce, cabbage, garden-egg, carrot, and cucumber samples were 8.2%, 2.0%, 1.0%, 1.3%, 2.3% contaminated
with helminth parasites respectively with an overall prevalence of 3.5%. No helminth parasites
were detected in green-peppers. Vegetables from the Gamboru Market were contaminated with
helminth parasites more than the other markets (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Proper washing of vegetables is imperative for a healthy diet as the results of this study
showed the presence of helminth parasites from raw vegetables used as salads in Nigeria.