Unveiling the Hidden Dangers: Investigating Intestinal Parasites and Enteric Bacteria in Ogbomoso’s Most Consumed Fruits and Vegetables

This study assessed the microbiological evaluation of environmental contamination of mostly consumed fruits and vegetables by intestinal parasites and enteric bacteria in three major markets (Waaso, Aarada and Akande) Ogbomoso, Oyo State Nigeria. A total of 5 fruits and 5 vegetables commonly consumed by dwellers of these communities were randomly purchased from the three markets. They were washed, and examined for microbial and parasitic organisms. Of the 150 samples of fruits and vegetables that were collected, processed and examined, 83 (55.3%) of them were contaminated with intestinal parasites, results was generated by determining the frequency distribution in which values was obtained by the Mean±SD and the significance of differences was also obtained using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. The intestinal parasites observed included: Ascaris lumbricoides, Balantidium coli, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica, Strongyloides stercoralis, Taenia saginata, Trichuris trichuira and Ancyclostoma duodenale. The predominant bacteria isolated from both fruits and vegetables included: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus species, Klebsiella oxytoca, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Klebsiella species. The parasites recovered from fruits and vegetables sold in Waaso market were more than those recovered from Aarada and Akande market which are 34(41.0%), 27(32.5%) and 22(26.5%) parasites respectively. Results show that 83(55.3%) out of the 150 fruits and vegetable samples in total examined had intestinal parasites. The prevalence of intestinal parasites in these fruits and vegetables was found to be 4.0% in Banana, 8.7% in Cabbage, 2.7% in Carrot, 3.3% in Cucumber, 6.7% in Jute mallow, 4.0% in Orange, 6.0% in Pineapple, 5.3% in Spinach, 8.6% in Tomato and 6.0% in Water melon. Findings from this study revealed that raw fruits and vegetables could be potential sources of microbial and parasitic infections, it is therefore essential to educate the populace on the need to inculcate the habit of thorough washing of these products with clean water before consumption to avoid potential health risk.