| dc.description.abstract | Food-borne diseases can be transmitted through raw vegetables
contaminated with bacteria and intestinal parasites. The study aimed to
determine bacteria and intestinal parasites that contaminate raw vegetables
in traditional markets. In this study, we collected raw vegetables from eight
traditional markets. We chose randomly at each market five samples of
vegetables that usually consumed in raw, like lettuce, tomato, cabbage, basil,
long bean, and cucumber. The bacteria were identified by culture and
microbiological test and the intestinal parasites were identified using
sedimentation and floatation methods. This study showed that all of raw
vegetables were contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) (91%),
Staphylococcus aureus (84%), and Vibrio cholera (79%). Besides bacteria,
36% of samples were contaminated by soil-transmitted helminths (STH),
and intestinal protozoa contaminated 27% of samples. Lettuce was the most
contaminated vegetable with bacteria and intestinal parasites. The results of
this study proved that there was bacterial contamination as well as intestinal
parasites in raw vegetables sold in traditional markets which could be a
source of spread of food-borne diseases. Therefore, handling raw vegetables
properly is needed as an effort to prevent it. | en_US |
