M'rad Selim, Chaabane-Banaoues Raja, Lahmar Ibtissem, Oumaima Hamza, Mezhoud Habib, Babba Hamouda, Oudni-M'rad Myriam
Faculty of Pharmacy, Laboratory of Medical and Molecular Parasitology-Mycology (LP3M), LR12ES08, University of Monastir, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia.
Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology, EPS F. Bourguiba, 5000 Monastir, Tunisia.
J Food Prot. 2020 Jul 1;83(7):1104-1109. doi: 10.4315/JFP-19-559.
Foodborne diseases continue to represent an important threat to public health in many parts of the world and are particularly widespread in developing countries. They are essentially acquired through an oro-fecal route via the consumption of uncooked fruits and vegetables. This study evaluated the parasitological contamination of vegetables for sale to humans in Tunisian retail markets. A total of 240 samples of fresh vegetables were examined for helminth eggs and protozoan cysts and oocysts (collectively, (oo)cysts) contamination. The parasitic elements (helminth eggs and protozoan (oo)cysts) were concentrated by sucrose flotation and identified by microscopic examination. The molecular identification of Echinococcus granulosus eggs was carried out using PCR. Helminth eggs and protozoan (oo)cysts eggs were found in 12.5% of the unwashed vegetables, and the most common parasites observed in vegetables were coccidian oocysts (4.1%), Toxocara spp. (2.5%), hookworm (2.1%), and Taenia spp. (1.25%) eggs, followed by Pseudolimax butschlii (1.6%) and Entamoeba coli (1.6%) protozoan cysts. Furthermore, parasite contamination differed significantly from one city to another. Taeniid eggs were identified by PCR as E. granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) (genotype G1). To our knowledge, this study highlights for the first time in Tunisia that fresh vegetables for sale in markets are contaminated with helminths and protozoan cysts, which are potentially pathogenic for humans. The control of these pathogens is in part a question of sanitary education, especially for retail vendors, and in part of improvement in hygiene measures throughout the food production chain, from the field to the consumer.
食源性疾病在世界许多地区仍然是对公众健康的重要威胁，在发展中国家尤为普遍。它们主要通过食用未煮熟的水果和蔬菜经口粪途径传播。本研究评估了突尼斯零售市场上供人类食用的蔬菜的寄生虫污染情况。共检查了240份新鲜蔬菜样本中的蠕虫卵、原生动物囊肿和卵囊（统称为（卵）囊）污染情况。通过蔗糖浮选法浓缩寄生虫成分（蠕虫卵和原生动物（卵）囊），并通过显微镜检查进行鉴定。使用PCR对细粒棘球绦虫卵进行分子鉴定。在12.5%的未清洗蔬菜中发现了蠕虫卵和原生动物（卵）囊，蔬菜中观察到的最常见寄生虫是球虫类卵囊（4.1%）、弓蛔虫属（2.5%）、钩虫（2.1%）和带绦虫属（1.25%）的卵，其次是伪嗜黏液阿米巴（1.6%）和结肠内阿米巴（1.6%）的原生动物囊肿。此外，不同城市的寄生虫污染情况差异显著。通过PCR鉴定带绦虫卵为狭义细粒棘球绦虫（基因型G1）。据我们所知，本研究首次在突尼斯强调市场上销售的新鲜蔬菜被蠕虫和原生动物囊肿污染，这些对人类具有潜在致病性。控制这些病原体部分是卫生教育问题，特别是对零售摊贩而言，部分是整个食品生产链（从田间到消费者）卫生措施的改进问题。
