Vol 14, Issue 6, 2021 Online - 2455-3891 Print - 0974-2441 THE SPECTRA OF INTESTINAL PARASITIC INFECTIONS AFFECTING PATIENTS ATTENDING A TERTIARY CARE CENTER IN WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH PREM PRAKASH MISHRA 1 *, ANIL KUMAR 1 , DEEPAK UPADHYAY 2 , AMIT GARG 1 , SHRISTI SHARMA 1 1 Department of Microbiology, LLRM Medical College, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. 2 Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. Email: prem6284@gmail.com Received: 06 March 2021, Revised and Accepted: 10 April 2021 ABSTRACT Objective: Intestinal parasitic infection is a burgeoning health issue, especially in developing countries owing to low socioeconomic conditions, poor sanitation, poor personal hygiene, and lack of access to potable drinking water. This study aims to determine the prevalence of different intestinal parasites among the patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 470 patients attending our hospital from October 2018 to September 2019. Specimens were collected and examined macroscopically and microscopically using concentration methods and modified Ziehl–Neelsen staining for coccidian parasites. Results: Out of the 470 patients, prevalence of intestinal infections was 4.89%. The helminthic infections were more common (52.17%), which was topped by Hookworm infection (26.09%) followed by Ascariasis (13.04%). Among the protozoa, Giardia lamblia (26.09%) was the most common, followed by Entamoeba histolytica (17.39%). The parasitic infections were more in female (5.62%) than male (4.19%) and highest in the pediatric age group and between 51 and 60 years. Conclusion: The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections is decreasing due to increasing awareness about sanitation, effects of open defecation, safe drinking water, and personal hygiene. However, the need of intervallic monitoring of intestinal parasitic infections is necessary. Keywords: Parasitic, Hookworm, Giardia lamblia, Coccidian, Modified Z-N staining. INTRODUCTION Intestinal parasitic infections are widely strewn throughout the globe, and they are continued to be a cause of health concern in developing countries. The disease-causing parasites may cause serious infections and occasionally death of hosts, especially in immunocompromised hosts. These infections are one of the major health perils which have affected approximately 3.5 billion people and caused disease in around 450 million people and the majority is constituted by children [1]. The reports from the past state that around 2 lakhs deaths per annum are attributed to these infections, chiefly in developing countries [2]. The prevalence of these infections is variable with respect to the different regions of the world, which predominantly depends on factors such as personal and community hygiene, poor sanitary facilities, geographic and socioeconomic factors, relatively humid areas, poverty, malnutrition, and high population density [3]. The infections such as Amoebiasis, Giardiasis, Trichuriasis, Hookworm, and Hymenolepis nana infection are the most common infections leading to various complications such as iron deficiency anemia, chronic diarrhea, portal hypertension, and impaired physical development in children along with other comorbidities [4]. Several reports from different parts of India have revealed a variable etiology of intestinal parasitic infection among different groups of population. It has become imperative to be acquainted with the disease burden of parasitic infestation in the population residing in this area. No such studies for intestinal parasitic infections were carried out among the patients attending this tertiary care center. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the spectrum of intestinal parasites affecting the patients attending the tertiary care center. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, LLRM, Medical College, Meerut from October 2018 to September 2019 among 470 patients attending the outpatient and inpatient department of various clinical departments and emergency. The stool specimens from the patients attending our tertiary care hospital were screened after the approval from the Ethics Committee of the institute and obtaining written informed consent from the patient or their guardian. The stool samples were collected in universal container and marked with time of collection, date of sampling, name of the patient, age, and sex. The samples were evaluated for macroscopic as well as microscopic examination within few hours of sample collection. The macroscopic examination included color, consistency, presence of mucus, blood, parasites, or its segments. Microscopic examination was done by examination of normal saline and iodine wet mount to detect the ova and cyst of the parasites as well as erythrocytes and pus cells. Formol-ether concentration technique was adopted for re-examination of negative samples. Protozoa and helminths were identified according to their morphological details [5]. Modified Ziehl–Neelsen (Z-N) staining was done on smears prepared from the fresh stool specimen. The slides were screened under different objectives for identification of the coccidian parasites such as Cystoisospora belli, Cryptosporidium spp., and Cyclospora cayetanensis [6]. The data analysis and validation were carried out by using SPSS version 24 software. The data were represented in terms of percentage, mean and median. All p<0.05 were considered statistically significant, while p value (p>0.05) was considered insignificant. RESULTS A total of 470 patient’s stool specimens were studied in the current study for detection of different pathogenic intestinal parasites. The age group of the patient ranged from 1 day to >90 years. The majority of the patients n = 193 (41.06%) belonged to the pediatric age group (0–18 years) followed by the age group (19–36 years). The positivity © 2021 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2021v14i6.41467. Journal homepage: https://innovareacademics.in/journals/index.php/ajpcr Research Article