A Survey of Soil Contamination and Viability of Ascaris Lumbricoides Eggs in Isfahan, Iran



Hoghooghi N¹ ; Badami N¹ ; Barnett R¹ ; Jalayer T¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Pahlavi Medical Journal Published:1973

Abstract

From the streets of Isfahan 19.3% of 559 soil samples contained Ascaris eggs. The percentage of eggs which contained motile larvae was determined and the viability of eggs after culturing the contaminated samples was measured. The soil contamination rate and the proportion of viable eggs were highest in winter and lowest in summer. Both of these parameters were directly related to the rainfall and inversely related to the air temperature of Isfahan. In contrast, the percentage of the eggs with motile larvae was highest in summer (32.5%). The reason for the high soil contamination and Ascaris egg viability is believed to be mainly due to continual use of untreated human excrement as fertilizer. It is hoped that the soil contamination rate will be reduced drastically with the completion of the city sewage system presently under construction.