MS.NO. 7678-SI
TITLE OF THE ESSAY :
PARASITIC CONTAMINATIONS IN THE TABLE VEGETABLES PLANTED
IN
SHIRAZ PLAIN - 2004
BY ; MERAJ MADADI
MEMBER OF SCIENTIFIC BOARD OF ISLAMIC AZAD UNIVERSITY
FIROOZABAD - FARS
IRAN_ SHIRAZ_Satarkhan street_Namazi alley_lane 16_NO 476
1
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authors. Many of the parasite names are miss-spelled. Please look in a text book
for correct spelling.
Summary
Record & Purpose
For many years the edible vegetables which are irrigated by unrefined sewage have
been taken into consideration by hygienic standards officials all around the world and
since it has been observed that some parasite contamination has been spread among
consumers through vegetables their importance from the view point of health was taken
into account to a greater extent. Sentence to long and hard to comprehend.
Vegetables are regarded as one factor through which contagious and parasite diseases
are transmitted and the edible vegetables which have been irrigated by unrefined sewage
can have a significant role in the transmission of parasites specially the parasites which
have soil resource.
It has been found that the above mentioned story has also happened in our country and
the record of transmission of parasite and contagious diseases was verified by the
experiments which were done on the edible vegetables that were irrigated, for the land
in Yassoj human fertilizer were used.
The analyses which were done in Louisiana USA (1965) and also in Japan (1962)
indicated the existence of parasite contamination in the vegetables that were irrigated by
urban and industrial sewage.
Materials and Methods
The experiment of parasite ovum was done through this research has been dome
descriptionally sedimentation (Leeds) which is one of the four common procedures
through which these experiments are done and they it was found to be a proper
experiment for unrefined sewage. ? Which one of the 4 did you do? Was it a
sedmintation? Say what you did.
For preparing the specimens onionated detergent materials were used to reduce the
adhesion of the parasite ova and to make the parasite ova slippery and to separate them
from the vegetables.
2
Using salt solution and magnesium sulfate with the density 1.3 and Triton-100 the
experiments were done by microscope.
3
Findings
The findings of this study showed that most of the contamination in all of the vegetable
plantations were relevant to Ascaris ova . 31.5% of the farms for which dry river water
is directly used, and 30.9% of the farms for which the water of near superficial wells is
used and 33.7% of the wells between which the distance was one kilometer were
contaminated by Ascaris ova.
Concerning the vegetables which were irrigated by the water of the wells which were
near Soltanabad river the most contamination which was about 32.20% was relevant to
insects larvae 24.5% was relevant to Ascaris worm.
In this study after the ovum of Ascaris, thelarv of different insects, Strongyloides
parasite, Strocoralis and Trichostrongylus had the most contamination.
In this study it was shown that the kind of water which is used for irrigation of farms is
also effective in contamination.
Discussion
The findings of this study are in harmony with the studies that were done in other places
and we can come to the conclusion that sewages and human fertilizers have been the
cause of contamination in farms for which such water has been used. The irrigation of
agricultural farms with these water sources is harmful and it can lead to hygienic
disruptions for the consumers of the crops the farms which are irrigated by such water
sources.
It is recommended that unrefined sewage and even refined sewage not be used for
irrigating vegetables and for fertilizing the soil animal fertilizers whose maintenance
conditions have been observed bee used.
Terms Key
Ovum, parasite, larvae, irrigation, vegetables, Shiraz.
4
Introduction:
Table vegetables are considered as one of the way transferring contagious and parasitic
diseases and the vegetables irrigated with raw sewages play an effective role in
transferring the parasites specially ones originated from soil . (1) Having examined the
vegetables contaminated with worm parasitic eggs irrigated with Firoozabad – Tehran
creek in 1989 and 1990(2) and table vegetables used in Yasooj in 1996 (3) shows that
the raw vegetables to be used in Iran have parasitic contamination . In other parts of the
World such as South Louisiana in U.S.A. where city and industrial sewages
contaminated the agricultural lands mostly because of city sewage and heavy metals of
industrial sewage for vegetables such as spinach , parsley , onion , asparagus, spearmint
, tomato , pea , carrot and cabbage these contaminations have been found and reported
( 1965 ) of which in 28.20 percent of the farms contaminated with the sewages parasitic
eggs were separated and the heavy metals were 1.60 percent more than the rate
permitted by American National Health Society ; the contamination was randomly . (4)
In Japan the researchers of
Agriculture
College , Tokyo University conducted
necessary tests relating to contamination way to provide a prototype and plan to know
parasitic contamination and heavy metals concerning leek , parsley , sweet basil ,
spearmint and green pepper irrigated with city and industrial raw sewage and showed
that the contamination because of high parasitic contamination and heavy metals were
more than the standards that is it was in amount of 2.13 percent in one year( 1962 ). (5)
The researches in our country show that the vegetables may transfer worm eggs such as
Ascaris , Trichocephal , Hymenalepisnana , Taenia , Faciola Hepatica and worm lavas
such as Trichosteronjilus and hookworms and unicellular creatures such as Entamoeba
hystolytica , Giardia lamblia , Toxoplasma gondii cause amoebiasis , giardiasis ,(
lambliasis ) and Toxoplasmosis diseases . (6)
If we can know these contaminations and prevent them, it plays an important role in
public health ; also irrigating vegetables with water contaminated with raw sewage and
contaminated water and using man feces
in the soil
play an important role to
contaminate vegetables . (6)
Irrigation method should be defined in relation to the amount of the used water and the
type of the plant because each plant needs a different rate of water depending on the
environment and geographical conditions such as temperature , raining rate , latitude ,
5
etc. ; these factors influence other each plant differently and are ignored in Shiraz plain
irrigation where the irrigation system is deep water which is traditional and uses about
4,000 – 12,000 cubic meters per hectare yearly . This system causes problems such as
drainage water ,environmental contamination , agricultural damages and
soil
corrosion.(7)
Vegetables are full of nutrients playing an important role in our health . So we should
eat them every day . It goes without saying that they should be clean and disinfected .
This study is to know the related parasites and the type and way of contaminating
vegetables with city and raw sewage irrigation . Vegetables play an important role in
spreading contagious diseases such as diarrhea so this study can propose some ways as
the programs to grow vegetables and not irrigating with city and raw sewage and
prevent regional contamination with vegetables and its transfer to the consumers .
Materials and methods :
This study was done sectional – descriptive to define parasitic contamination in table
vegetables planted in the farms around Shiraz because the vegetables used either raw or
cooked
in Gheisar Aboonasr , Mehraghan , Eghbal Abad , Torkan , Nasirabad,
Kooshkak , Mahfiroozan , Dasht Khezr , Noortaban , Khaljooy and Sharifabad villages
, mountainous region and Kaftarak village all of them besides Roodkhaneh Khoshk
river So having
estimated the lands under cultivation in hectares the type of the
products , harvest amount , the fertilizer and poisons to disinfect , herbicides ,
fungicides and irrigation methods including deep and half deep wells and river water
were examined locally and exactly . The lands
special to cultivate table vegetables , domestic animals provender , wheat , barley and
potato were about 1,372 hectares of which 128 hectares were to plant the provender
including alfalfa , 168 hectares to plant barley , wheat and maize and 100 hectares to
plant potato. Having familiarized with above cases including table vegetables ,
vegetables to be cooked to eat and provender they were sampled by observing all related
scientific and hygienic regulations .
140 samples of different vegetables cultivated in Kaftarak and Soltanabad were on the
basis of the factors such as irrigation including shallow wells in one km from river ,
the river and one type of the vegetables was sampled in each farm .
6
On the basis of the reference 8 the samples were taken with gloves and put into nylex in
amount of 250 – 500 g, carries to related lab. And the specifications of each ample were
mentioned in related forms. 45 samples of them were grown with river water and 95
samples were irrigated with deep, half deep and shallow wells.
The lands to cultivate vegetables were 276 hectares of which 90 hectares were irrigated
with river and 186 hectares irrigated with mostly shallow wells. 58 shallow, half deep
and deep wells were sampled to be tested for bacteriological results; 98 percent of the
wells were contaminated with coliform mode and 100 percent were soil coliform .
Physical and chemical qualities had not usual state standards, but 12 deep wells in 1,500
m. From the river has a chemical standard. Each of the following vegetables were
sampled 250 – 500 g in the study:
A ) Sweet basil , leek , spearmint , cress , purslane , parsley , tarragon , common dill
and spinach .
B ) Radish , tomato , cucumber , eggplant , green pepper , carrot, onion , cabbage and
squash .
C) Lettuce, green bean, pea and okra.
No special dish was necessary to sample but there were nylex bags. Sweet basil, leek,
spearmint, cress, lettuce, purslane , parsley , tarragon and carrot are eaten raw and the
others are mostly eaten cooked . The tests are very important. The domestic animals
provender was sampled in the same way.
Findings:
Findings show that the parasitic contamination conditions of the table vegetables
depend on the place to irrigate, farm and type of the parasites. Most percentage of
contamination in all farms around Roodkhaneh Khoshk river relates to the parasite "
ascaris" and larvae of different insects. Of ascaris eggs contamination 31.50 percent
relates to the farms irrigated directly by river and 30.90 percent relates to the farms
irrigated by the wells around Roodkhaneh Khoshk. Also in the study it became clear
that ascaris eggs contamination was 33.70 percent in the wells in one kilometer from the
river and mostly the fertilizer was man feces there by virtue of local researches (Table
1), but bacteriologic test showed that the superficial regional wells water indicated feces
coliform contamination, MPN/100, 3 F to 45 and total coliform, MPN/100, 70 to 800
7
and total coliform of deep wells, 5 to 45 of MPN/100. relating to physical and chemical
specifications the water used in Shiraz plain and Roodkhaneh Khoshk farms had not the
standard factors necessary for agriculture and its BOD was more than 100 mg per liter
which is not usable for all products. Also some heavy metals have been in a level not
applicable for agriculture. Water EC (electric conduction) in some used wells was high,
but all the wells had coliform contamination.
Table 1: Parasitic contamination rate in the vegetables according to the place irrigating
the farm and type of the parasite:
Wells near
Well in 1
Wells near
Roodkhaneh Irrigation
Soltan Abad
km from
Roodhaneh
Khoshk
river
the river
Khoshk
Water
Place
Plenty
Type of parasite
Trichostrongylosis 35
15/5
19
16/8
13
16/3
12 19/6
Estercouralis
32
14/2
13
11/5
19
23/7
10 16/4
Ascaris
71
31/5
35
31/0
27
33/7
15 24/6
Trichocephal
4
1/8
0
0/0
0
0/0
0
0/0
Exure
19
8/5
0
0/0
2
2/6
4
6/6
Different insects
64
28/5
46
40/7
19
23/7
20 32/8
80
100/0
61 100/0
Larvae and eggs
Total
225 100/0 113 100/0
Discussion :
Parasitic transfer needs three factors : infection source , a transfer way and a sensible
hostess ; the process mixing theses factors , the way distributing the parasite in a
defined place and time and the ways by which the parasite reaches from the first source
to the hostess are clear. (9) Some parasites need direct contact to reach the hostess and
some others have a more complicated life period and need to pass some growth steps
such as free life or being in intermediate hostess body to become infective . The transfer
is done through direct and indirect contact , food , water , soil and vertebrates and the
arthropoda . By virtue of the studies in Iran contamination rate relating to some worms
in different parts of Iran is high and considerable ; in our country there are about 32 man
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parasites of which some are very contaminant such as ascaris.(10) The vegetables
contaminated by parasite eggs are a way to transfer the parasite eggs to the consumers
in our country. (11) Raw sewage and man feces are a source contaminating the farms
irrigated with these waters and fertilizers . When the farm is irrigated with such
contaminant sources are very dangerous for the consumers of the final products
because there are still traditional and deep water system using water too much .
By virtue of the tests relating to parasitic contaminations in table vegetables in Shiraz
plain irrigated with Roodkhaneh
Khoshk river all the cultivated vegetables have
parasitic contamination relating to one or several parasites . By virtue of the study it
became clear that most contaminations relate to the type of the irrigation and where the
man feces was used . (12)
City sewage is discharged into Shiraz Roodkhaneh Khoshk river passing through the
city center ; some districts of the city have not absorptive sewage well and the factories
besides the river transfer their sewage into it . Even in some parts of the city some
people throw their garbage into it so some agricultural irrigation places have high BOD
( The index indicating sewage contamination ) which is related to city sewage . (13)
The farms often special to cultivate table vegetables irrigated with Roodkhaneh Khoshk
river are factors contaminating the vegetables by parasitic eggs . By virtue of the tests
276 hectares of these lands are special to raw vegetables distributed in Shiraz and
other cities near it . Also the wells in one
km
from
the river were tested in
bacteriologic viewpoint and whenever the well was less deep and farther from the river
it was more contaminated ; it shows that the well was influenced by the river The farther
wells had parasitic eggs relating to man feces used in the farm and the differences were
as follows : (14)
A ) The parasitic contamination was more in the vegetables farms irrigated from the
river directly .
B ) Parasitic egg contamination related to the vegetables is less in the farms irrigated by
handy and shallow wells father from the river than the farms irrigated directly by the
river water .
C ) The contamination in the farms irrigated by deep wells in more than one km from
the river was less than two above cases .
9
So it became clear that the water contaminated by the river sewage played the main role
in contaminating the comestible raw vegetables by parasitic egg.
The most important findings of the study match the findings of the items 2 , 3, 4 and 5
in the bibliography and it is acknowledged that man feces fertilizer and sewage are the
source contaminating the farms by parasitic egg .
In the study it became clear that green beans , sweet basil and tarragon were more
contaminated and parasitic eggs and larvae of ascaris and trichostrongylosis were more
than other insects . In the study it became clear that the farms irrigated by the shallow
and nearer wells ( in 50 m from the river ) had the vegetables with parasitic egg
contamination like the farms irrigated by the river water .
Also it was found in the study that the farms irrigated by the wells around seasonal river
Soltan Abad had strongylosis , strocouralis , ascaris and trichostrongylosis eggs more
than other parasitic eggs .
The parasitic eggs contamination of the vegetables irrigated by Roodkhaneh Khoshk
river was compared with the contamination of the vegetables irrigated by the wells
besides seasonal river Soltan Abad and it was found that the former contamination is
more than the latter .
Conclusion :
The results show that the vegetables cultivated in Shiraz plain irrigated by raw sewage
and fertilized by man feces play an important role in transferring important
contaminations such as ascaris , trichostrongylosis trichocephal , strocouralis and exure
. So it is proposed that the standards and regulations relating to the water to irrigate
productions specially raw vegetables used directly should be observed .
Bibliography :
1 – Shariat Panahi , Mohammad , The Principles of Water & Sewage Quality &
Filtration , Tehran University Publications , 1994 .
2 – Vosooghi , Mohammad Ali , Examining the Worm Parasitic Eggs Contamination of
the Vegetables irrigated by Firoozabad river , Thesis of MS in Environment Health
Engineering , Faculty of Health , Tehran Medical Sciences University , 191990 .
10
3 – Sarkari , Bahador , Examining Parasitic Contamination of the Vegetables used in
Yasooj city , 1996 .
4 – Ramal ow , R , The Identification of Pain sources of Heavy Metals in Industrial
Impacted Water Way by I Phytom and Surface Sediment Monitoring Water , Air &
Soil Pollution 65 . ( 1992 ) 175 – 190 .
5 – Chino " T " , The Amount of Heavy Metals Derived from Domestic Sources In
Japan Water Air & Soil Pollution .
6 - Arfa , Fereidoon , Helminthology , 1st & 2nd Vol. Danesh Pazhooh Publications ,
1994 .
7 – Rastegar , Engineer Mohammad Ali , General Farming , Berahmand Publications ,
1997 .
8 – Gholami , Mitra & Mohammadi , Hamed , Water & Sewage Microbiology, Hayan
Publications , Tehran , 1998 .
9 – Athari , Dr. Amid , Medical Parasitology ( Translated ) , Pezhman Publications ,
2001 .
10 – Mahvi , Amir Hossein , Sewage Filtration in Torrid Zone , Jehad Daneshgahi
Publications , 1996 .
11 – Monzavi , Mohammad Taghi , Sewage Gathering , 1st & 2nd Vol. Tehran
University Publications , 1994 .
12 – Process Design Manual for Land Treatment of Municipal Waste Water , U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency , Published in 1997 .
13 – Who Scientific groupon " Health Guide Line for the Use of Waste Water in
Agriculture & Aquaculture " ( 1989 ) , Qemeva ( Wldthorg. Techn. Red . Sev , No. 778
).
14 - Who Scientific & Roupon " Prevention & Control of Industrial Parasitic Infection
" , Report . Geneva (Wldthorg. Techn. Red . Sev , No. 749 ) .
11
12
5
rd
7
Gou
10
cow
pea
Turn
ig c a
bbag
e
14
s
17
bean
20
eyed
40
Blac
k
lant
Dolm
ehpe
pper
Gree
n be
ans
9
Eggp
7
ato
9
Tom
10
n
Cucu
mbe
r
10
Onio
10
t
13
Carr
o
n pe
pper
Purs
lane
21
Gree
basi
l
30
Pars
ley
Swe
et
15
Leek
agon
25
Tarr
The parasite pollution of vegetables which are irrigated via water of
Khoshk River
35
35
25
18
12
2
6
0
agon
21
6
8
5
9
7
8
6
5
4
4
13
rd
10
Gou
8
Leek
Swe
et ba
sil
Pars
ley
Purs
lane
Gree
n pe
pper
Carr
ot
Onio
n
Cucu
mbe
r
Tom
ato
Eggp
lant
Dolm
ehpe
pper
Gree
n be
ans
bean
Blac
s
k ey
ed c
owp
ea
Turn
ig c a
bbag
e
Tarr
The parasite pollution chart of vegetables which are irrigated by wells
that are near to Khoshk river
12
9
10
7
8
5
6
4
4
2
0
The chart of parasite pollution pelcentage of vegetable that are
irrigated via water of Khoshk river
Other insect,
28.45%
Tricosteronji
lus, 15.56%
sterocoraline
, 14.23%
Oxyure,
14.23%
Trichocephal
, 1.78%
Ascaries,
31.55%, 30%
14
The chart of parasite pollution percentage of vegetables which are
irrigated via wells close to Khoshk river
Other
insect,
40.70%
Ascaries;
30.98%;
31%
sterocorali
ne, 11.50%
15
Tricostero
njilus,
16.82%