title: Practical parasitology courses and infection with intestinal parasites in students.
abstract: Students who are working in research or educational laboratories of parasitology, as well as health care workers providing care for patients, are at the risk of becoming infected with parasites through accidental exposure. The main purpose of this study was to identify potential positive cases of intestinal parasitic infections among students who took practical parasitology courses compared with students who did not take any practical parasitology courses in Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran, in 2013-2014. A total of 310 subjects from various majors were invited to voluntarily participate in the study. Various demographic data were collected using questionnaires. Three stool samples were collected from each individual on alternate days. Saline wet mounts (SWM), formalin-ether sedimentation test (FEST), Sheather floatation test (SHFT) and trichrome and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining methods were used to diagnose the presence of intestinal parasites. The prevalence rate of intestinal parasites (IPs) among the students was 11.93%. There was a significant difference between majors in the infection with IPs (P<0.05). The most frequently observed IPs were Blastocystis hominis (4.51%) and Giardia intestinalis (3.54%). The results of this study showed that the transmission of pathogenic parasites in the educational course of practical parasitology could occur and must be taken into careful consideration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran; Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran. Electronic address: Falahi.Sh@lums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Sh
authors.initials: Sh
authors.lastname: Fallahi
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rostami
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ebrahimzadeh
authors.affiliation: Instructor, Faculty of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pournia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010274:Parasitology / Q000193:education*; D015995:Prevalence; D013337:Students, Medical; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Intestinal parasites; Practical parasitology course; Students