BACKGROUND Determination of the prevalence and distribution pattern of intestinal parasites is a fundamental step to set up an effective control program to improve the health status. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and associated risk factors among inhabitants of Rudbar-e Jonub county, southeast of Kerman province, southeastern Iran. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, 861 stool specimens were collected from inhabitants of Rudbar-e Jonub county through a multistage cluster sampling method in 2018. The collected specimens were examined by parasitological methods including, direct wet-mounting (for the fresh specimens with a watery consistency), formalin-ethyl acetate sedimentation and agar plate culture. RESULTS The prevalence of intestinal parasites was 34.2% (95% CI 30.1 to 38.2). The prevalence of protozoan parasites 32.3% (95% CI 28.4 to 36.5) was significantly higher than helminthic parasites 3.2% (95% CI 2.1 to 4.7). Blastocystis sp. (13.3%), Entamoeba coli (11.4%) and Giardia lamblia (10.6%) as protozoan parasite and Hymenolepis nana (2.4%) as helminthic parasite were the most common detected intestinal parasites in the study. Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (1.5%), Iodamoeba bütschlii (1.0%), Chilomastix mesnili (0.5%), Entamoeba hartmanni (0.4%), Enterobius vermicularis (0.3%) and Ascaris lambercoides (0.3%) were other detected parasites. Multiple logistic regression revealed a significant association of intestinal parasitic infections with source of drinking water and residency status (rural/urban). Multiple infections with 2 or 3 parasitic agents constituted 22.7% of 295 infected cases. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed a high prevalence of intestinal protozoan infections among inhabitants of Rudbar-e Jonub county. Intestinal parasites especially protozoans remain a challenging public health problem wherever sanitation and health measures are limited in Iran.

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人类肠道寄生虫感染的患病率和相关危险因素：伊朗东南部克尔曼省东南部的一项基于人群的研究。

背景技术确定肠道寄生虫的流行和分布模式是建立有效控制程序以改善健康状况的基本步骤。这项研究旨在确定伊朗东南部克尔曼省东南部的Rudbar-e Jonub县居民的肠道寄生虫感染率和相关危险因素。方法在本横断面研究中，2018年通过多阶段整群抽样方法从Rudbar-e Jonub县居民中收集了861个粪便标本。收集的标本采用寄生虫学方法进行了检查，包括直接湿式安装（对于新鲜标本水性稠度），福尔马林-乙酸乙酯沉淀和琼脂平板培养。结果肠道寄生虫的患病率为34.2％（95％CI为30.1至38.2）。原生动物寄生虫的流行率32.3％（95％CI 28.4至36.5）显着高于蠕虫寄生虫3.2％（95％CI 2.1至4.7）。芽孢杆菌属 （13.3％），肠轮虫（11.4％）和贾第鞭毛虫（10.6％）作为原生动物寄生虫，而Hymenolepis nana（2.4％）作为蠕虫寄生虫是该研究中最常见的肠道寄生虫。其他检出的寄生虫还有组织性变形杆菌/ dispar（1.5％），Iodamoebabütschlii（1.0％），Chilomastix mesnili（0.5％），Entamoeba hartmanni（0.4％），Enterobius vermicularis（0.3％）和Ascaris lambercoides（0.3％）。多元逻辑回归分析表明，肠道寄生虫感染与饮用水来源和居住状况（农村/城市）之间存在显着相关性。在295例感染病例中，有2或3种寄生虫的多次感染占22.7％。结论本研究揭示了Rudbar-e Jonub县居民的肠道原生动物感染率很高。在伊朗卫生和卫生措施有限的地区，肠道寄生虫，尤其是原生动物仍然是一个充满挑战的公共卫生问题。