Shift in parasitic infections during the Corona pandemic: a hospital-based retrospective study
https://doi.org/10.47665/tb.38.2.038
- Author:
Hawash, Y.
1
,
2
;
Ismail, K.H.
1
;
Abdel-Wahab, M.
3
Author Information
1. Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia&
2. Molecular and Clinical Parasitology Department, National Liver Institute, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt
3. Department of Medical Microbiology, King Faisal Medical Complex, Taif, KSA
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Corona pandemic;
intestinal parasites;
prevalence;
retrospective study
- From:Tropical Biomedicine
2021;38(No.2):94-101
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
The Corona pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-
2) calls on the Saudi government to take action to control the infection. The government
closed borders, prohibited travel, limited outdoor movements, and told primary and secondary
care facilities to reduce all regular non-urgent health services. It is not known whether
these measures have impacted the prevalence of parasitic intestinal infections. This study
has therefore been carried out to investigate this issue. Dataset of 217 stool samples
submitted to the King Faisal Medical Complex (KFMC) Microbiology Laboratory in Taif, Saudi
Arabia for parasitological examination during the pandemic (January-June 2020) and 649
samples submitted during the corresponding months of the previous year (January-June
2019) were extracted and analyzed. Overall, 24.1% (209/866) of samples were parasitespositives;
26.6% (173/649) before and 16.5% (36/217) during the pandemic, with 79% reduction.
There was a significant difference in gender-parasitism between the two periods where the
majority of parasitism were for males (p<0.001). Infections were frequent in patients aged 5-
14 years both before (84/649; 12.9%) and during (12/217; 5.5%) the pandemic, with significant
difference observed between the two cohorts (p<0.002). Moreover, the majority of infected
patients were non-Saudi (67.9%; 142/209), with a significant difference in nationality reported,
(p=0.024). Protozoa were identified in 21.8% (189) of all samples investigated, of which,
Blastocystis hominis, Entamoeba coli, Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and
Cryptosporidium species were identified in 6.1% (53), 5.4% (47), 5.0% (44), 2.8% (25), and 2.3%
(20), respectively. Helminths were diagnosed in 2.3% (20/866) of samples. Eggs of hookworm,
Ascaris, Taenia spp, and Hymenolepis nana were detected in 0.9% (8), 0.5% (5), 0.3% (3) and 0.4%
(4), respectively. In parallel with our research hypothesis, a substantial decrease in the
burden of intestinal parasitic infections was recorded with the lock-down measures taken
during the Corona pandemic.
- Full text:8.2021my1243.pdf
