Intestinal Parasitic Infections among Intellectually Disabled Individuals in Bandar Abbas County, Southern Iran.

Intellectually disabled individuals are more prone to parasitic infections due to their unusual behaviors, immune and nutrient deficiencies, and living conditions. The current study is aimed at evaluating the prevalence of intestinal parasites in institutionalized intellectually disabled individuals in Bandar Abbas County in the south of Iran. Subjects of the study were 119 individuals, living in an intellectually disabled individual care center. Demographic features of the subjects including age, sex, intellectual disability type, and duration of their stay in the center were recorded. A stool sample was taken from each subject and evaluated by direct wet mount and formalin-ethyl-acetate concentration methods. Samples were also examined, using trichrome and modified acid-fast permanent staining. The mean age of the subjects was 27.6 (±2.24), ranging from 4 to 60 years old. Of the 119 participants, 55 (46.2%) were male, and 64 cases (53.8%) were female. Overall, 31 individuals (26.1%, 95% CI: 18.4-34.9) were found to be infected with at least one type of intestinal parasite. , as the most common detected parasite, was detected in 13 (10.1%), in 12 (10.1%), in 5 (4.2%), in 2 (1.7%), in 2 (1.7%), and in 1 (0.8%) of participants. Three cases had coinfection with and , one case was infected with and , and one case was coinfected with and . There were no statistically significant associations between intestinal parasitic infection and gender, age, type of intellectual disability, or duration of stay in the care center ( > 0.05). The findings of the present study indicate a relatively high prevalence of parasitic infections in people with intellectual disabilities in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran. Noteworthy is the high prevalence of and also the presence of infection in these people. Periodic treatment of these people and improvement of their maintenance conditions can be considered for the prevention and control of intestinal parasitic infection in these people.