Geohelminth Contamination of Common Fruits and Vegetables in Ebonyi State, Nigeria: The Public. Health Implication

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1 AASCIT Journal of Bioscience 2015; 1(2): Published online April 20, 2015 ( Geohelminth Contamination of Common Fruits and Vegetables in Ebonyi State, Nigeria: The Public Health Implication Uneke Bilikis Iyabo, Udegbunam Rita Oluchi Fisheries and Hydrobiology, Dept. of Applied Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Ebonyi state, Nigeria address (U. B. Iyabo), (U. R. Oluchi) Keywords Geohelminths, Contamination, Fruits, Vegetable, Health Implication Received: March 30, 2015 Revised: April 8, 2015 Accepted: April 9, 2015 Citation Uneke Bilikis Iyabo, Udegbunam Rita Oluchi. Geohelminth Contamination of Common Fruits and Vegetables in Ebonyi State, Nigeria: The Public Health Implication. AASCIT Journal of Bioscience. Vol. 1, No. 2, 2015, pp Abstract Geohelminths (soil-transmitted helminths) are group of nematode parasites with an essential phase of their asexual lifecycle in the soil. The studies on the geohelminths contamination of common fruits and vegetable in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyistate was carried out by sedimentation, centrifugation and microscopy of the samples to detect the presence of the parasitic eggs, larvae, and cyst respectively. The study reviewed that out of 100 samples of fruits, 55 (55%) was infested. The 55 fruits include garden eggs (34.34%), orange (20.00%), guava (27.27%), and pineapple (18.18). Parasites isolated include: Strongyloids stercoralis (42.85%), hookworm (23.80), Trichuris trichuria (9.52), and Ascaris lumbricoides (23.80).The study showed that the use of animal dung as organic fertilizers are dominantly used for the growth of these fruits and vegetables and this serves as a predisposing factor. Proper washing of these fruits with potassium oxide and clean water will help reduce the rate of prevalence. 1. Introduction Geohelminths (soil-transmitted helminths) are group of nematode parasites with an essential phase of their asexual lifecycle in the soil. There is a period of persistence in the soil during which the infective stages are protected and preserved (Andrade et al., 2001).Geohelminth infections are most prevalent in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the developing world, where adequate water, good personal hygiene and sanitation are lacking (De Silva et al., 2003). Recent estimates suggest that Ascaris lumbricoides infects over one billion people, Trichuris trichuria infects 79 millions and hookworm (Ancyclostoma duodenale and Necator americanus) infects 740 million people (WHO, 2008). Chronic and intense geohelminth infections can contribute to malnutrition, iron-deficiency anaemia, morbidity and sometimes, health-comprising nutritional status, affecting cognitive process, which include tissue reaction such as granuloma and provoking intestinal obstruction or rectal prolapse (Adeyeba and Akinlabi, 2002; Etim et al., 2002; Ezeamama et al., 2005). Indigenous fruits and vegetables are known to play major role in the nutritional livelihood of the Nigerian population, especially in the rural areas where there is poor socio-economic condition (Adeboye and Adedayo, 2008). Fruits and vegetables are good sources of mineral elements such as iron, and vitamins, including vitamin C, Vitamin B12, Niacin and Riboflavin. Consumption of raw or unhygienically prepared vegetables is considered a risk factor for human parasitic infections (Orlandi et al., 2002). The climate

2 16 Uneke Bilikis Iyabo and Udegbunam Rita Oluchi: Geohelminth Contamination of Common Fruits and Vegetables in Ebonyi State, Nigeria: The Public Health Implication and topography of the rural villages in Ebonyi State, South-East Nigeria is suitable for the growth of these fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Rain during wet season and irrigation during dry season encourage their growth all year round. These two sources of water are highly polluted with human and animal faeces which represent high risk to farmers and consumers of fruit and vegetable products. Market fruits are often contaminated by eggs of human intestinal nematodes where human and animal faeces are extensively used as fertilizers and reused waste water. The indirect reserve of river water contains a substantial percentage of municipal refuse and sewage. This practice is growing prominence in Nigeria as a result of the growing cost of mineral fertilizer and high demand of basic fruits and vegetables as a nutrient diet due to poor socio-economic conditions (Damen et al., 2007). Epidemiological studies have indicated that areas characterized by endemic helminthic diseases are found in population where raw untreated waste water is used for irrigation of fruits and vegetables and consumption of such waste irrigated fruits are generally done unwashed or uncooked (Brooker, 2003, Nock et al., 2003, Naish et al., 2004). Ethnic eating habits, poverty, and environmental degradation have also contributed to the emergence of geohelminth infections worldwide (Phiri et al., 2000). Some of these infections may have been acquired from food especially raw fruits and vegetables, water and animals. Therefore the signifance of this study is to determine the prevalence of geohelminths on some selected edible fruits and vegetables commonly consumed in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi State, to identify the fruits and vegetables which stand the risk of geohelminth infection and to identify possible responsible factors with a view to proffering measures to curb or reduce contaminations and its attendant health implications. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Study Area The geohelminths contamination of fruits and vegetables cultivated and sold at Izzi LGA of Ebonyi state. Izzi LGA is one of the thirteen LGAs in Ebonyi state. It is located in the north east of Ebonyi state and has a common boundary with Benue and cross river states. It is characterized majorly with sandy loamy and full of green vegetations unlike other areas of Ebonyi state. Izzi LGA have seven different native markets where they sale majorly their farm proceeds. Their population is about 100,100 and a land mass of about 28km due east south and 42km north east. Average temperature is 37 and average rain fall of up to It is among the LGAs with the highest flood especially in the rainy season. People of Izzi are majorly farmers and few civil servants. It is one of the LGAs with the highest number of rural people resident in the poor rural areas. Cultivation of vegetables and fruits are common practice here where most practice mixed cropping with the use of animal dung and human faeces as artificial manure Fruits and Vegetables Sample Collection The freshly harvested fruits and vegetables were purchased directly from the farmers and taken to laboratory. A total of 100 samples of fruits and 25 bunches of vegetables, five each were assessed. They were wrapped in clean polythene bags and labelled and examined within 6 hours of collection for helminthes contamination.the following fruits were used for the study, garden egg, orange, guava, and pineapple and vegetables include garden egg leaf, water leaf, scent leaf, and green leaf Sedimentation Method Samples of fruits and vegetables were washed with normal saline in a clean plastic container for the removal of the parasite egg ova, larvae or cysts. The suspensions were strained through a sterile sieve (150µm) to remove undesirable materials. The filtrate was centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 5mins and the supernatant was discarded. Sediment was collected and smeared on a clean grease free glass slide. A clean cover slip was gently placed to avoid air bubbles and over-flooding. Samples were examined under microscope for parasites using x 10 and x 40 objectives Identification of Eggs and Larvae of Geohelminths The eggs and larvae of geohelminths were identified using a parasitological atlas (Cheesbrough, 1999).The eggs of T. trichuira were barrel-shaped with mucous plug at each pole and measures 50-53µm by 22-23µm in size. The eggs of Ascaris were oval or rounded with warty appearance. Larvae of hookworms were not flattened and eggs possess grey cells or were dark-brown and measures between 50-60µm in size. 3. Results A total of 100 samples of fruits and 25 bunches of vegetables from four markets in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi state were assessed for geohelminths. Total number and percentage contaminated for fruits was 55(55.0%) while it was 18(72.0) for vegetables. Highest contamination was in Guava 15(75.0) while Orange 11(36.7) had the lowest contamination (Table 1). Green leaf vegetable had the highest contamination 6(85.7) while the other vegetables had 66.7% contamination (Table 2).

3 AASCIT Journal of Bioscience 2015; 1(2): Table 1. Geohelmimthes contamination of fruits. Fruits Scientific name No. of Sample No. Infected % Infected Garden egg Melongenasp Orange Citrus sinensis Guava Psidiumguajava Pineapple Ananacomosus Total Table 2. Geohelmimthes contamination of vegetables. Fruits Scientific name No. of Sample No. Infected % Infected Scent leaf Ocimumgratissimum Garden egg leaf Melongenasp Water leaf Talinumtrangulare Green leaf Amaranthusspinosus Total Table 3 above shows the market where each of the fruits were collected indicating the fruits with positive cases. A total of 19(34.5) garden egg, 11 (20.0) oranges, 15 (27.2) guava and 10 (18.1) pineapple were infected at their number (s) according to market respectively. A total of 19 (34.5) geohelminths were recovered from Iboko market samples, 13(23.6) from Nkwegu market samples, 8 (14.5) from Ogballe market and 15 (27.3) from Ophoke Mba market samples respectively. No.(%) of fruits contaminated Table 3. Geoheminths contamination of fruits based on markets. Market Garden egg Orange Guava Pineapple No.(%) of helminths per market Iboko 8 (42.1) 4 (36.4) 4(26.7) 3 (30.0) 19 (34.5) Nkwegu 5 (26.3) 1 (9.1) 4(26.7) 3 (30.0) 13 (23.6) Ogballe 2 (10.5) 2 (18.2) 3(20.0) 1 (10.0) 8 (14.5) OphokeMba 4 (21.1) 4 (36.4) 4(26.7) 3 (30.0) 15 (27.3) Total Out of five bunches bought from each market and sampled for the prevalence of geohelminthes in vegetables, samples bought from Iboko market recorded the highest prevalence of 6 (35.2) while the least prevalence was recorded in Ophoke market at 3 (17.64). Vegetables sample of scent leaf, garden egg leaf, and green leaf collected from Nkwegu market and Ogballe market recorded same number with different percentage prevalence. This shows that Iboko market, vegetables were the most infected while sample of Ophoke Mba recorded the least prevalence of infection (Table 4). Market Table 4. Geohelminths contamination of vegetables based on markets. Vegetables infected at various market Scent leaf Garden egg leaf Water leaf Green leaf Iboko 2 (4.0) 2 (25.0) 0 (0.0) 2 (66.6) 6 (35.2) Nkwegu 1 (2.0) 3 (37.5) 1 (50.0) 0 (0.0) 5 (27.7) Ogballe 1 (2.0) 2 (25.0) 0 (0.0) 1 (3.3) 4 (23.5) OphokeMba 1 (2.0) 1 (12.5) 1 (50.0) 0 (0.0) 3(17.6) Total Total (%) parasite The prevalence of geohelminthes parasites in fruits sampled showed that garden egg 30 (54.5) recorded the highest prevalence of infection with Strongyloides stercoralis 14 (25.5) recording the highest parasite. The total number of Strongyloides larvae and eggs recorded the highest parasites while Trichuris 5 (9.1) recorded the least prevalence in the fruits sampled (Table 5). No. (%) of geohelminths Table 5. The prevalence of geohelminths contamination among fruits sampled. Fruits Strongyloides Hook-worm Trichuris Ascaris G.eggs 14 (25.5) 2 (3.6) 0 (0.0) 3 (5.6) 19 (34.5) Orange 5 (9.1) 3 (5.6) 3 (5.5) 0 (0.0) 11 (20.0) Guava 7 (12.7) 4 (7.2) 0 (0.0) 4 (7.2) 15 (27.3) Pineapple 4 (7.2) 2 (3.6) 2 (3.6) 2 (3.6) 10 (18.2) Total 30 (54.5) 11(20.0) 5(9.1) 9(16.4) 55 Total (%) parasite

4 18 Uneke Bilikis Iyabo and Udegbunam Rita Oluchi: Geohelminth Contamination of Common Fruits and Vegetables in Ebonyi State, Nigeria: The Public Health Implication The prevalence of geohelminthes parasites in vegetables sampled showed that Strongyloides stercorales 2 (50.00) were the highest in scent leaf, hookworm 2 (33.3) and Ascaris lumbricodes 2 (40.00) were same prevalence in water while Table 6. Prevalence of geohelminths contamination among vegetables samples. hookworm 2 (33.3) and Trichuris 2 (33.3) were the highest in Green Leaf. However the highest prevalence was recorded Green Leaf 6 (33.3) (Table 6). Vegetable sample Strongyloides Hookworm Trichuris Ascaris Total (%) parasite Scent leaf 2 (50.0) 1 (16.6) 0 (0.00) 1 (20.00) 4(22.2) Garden egg leaf 1 (25.0) 1 (16.6) 1 (33.3) 1 (20.00) 4(22.2) Water leaf 0 (0.00) 2 (33.3) 0 (0.00) 2 (40.00) 4(22.2) Green leaf 1 (25.0) 2 (33.3) 2 (33.3) 1(20.00) 6(33.33) Total Discussion The study of parasites on vegetables and fruits is helpful in accessing the prevalence of helminths eggs in a population which may pose a public health ask to consumers, who stand the chance of ingesting the infected part of the vegetable. The study reviewed that a total of one hundred fruits of different sorts and bundles of vegetables of also were sampled for the presence of geohelminths parasites. The investigation revealed that out of the hundred fruits sampled (55.0) showed positive prevalence while out of 25 bunches of vegetable sampled (72.0) showed a positive prevalence. This prevalence on fruits and vegetable could be attributed with the use of human faeces, animal dung and plant waste as organic nutrient in vegetable cultivation as was rightly observed in the area of the research. Thus it was observed that the area of this research is characterized with sandy loamy, clay loamy and that due to the high cost of NPK fertilizer seen among there farmers in Izzi LGA, and their lack of modern agriculture, the use of contaminated waste in fertilization is usually a common practice here, and this is revealed to be the cause of parasite contamination in were fruits and vegetables, thus giving rise to human health risk. The reason why Iboko market ranked high depends on the fact that Iboko market is the reception point of all good and not only vegetables and fruits and thus many a times record helminths with high impact range. It is observe from this study that Iboko market is the largest market in Izzi LGA with even fruits from Benue State, Nigeria (food basket of the nation) are received here and then distributed to other part of the LGA. Local farmers in Izzi LGA commonly use human faeces and animal dung as organic fertilizer which they acclaim that they produce more yield than chemical fertilizer but it is seen that they lack knowledge of the parasite transmission due to the use of the waste and animal dung/ human faeces. Due to lack of money and poverty, it is seen that agro fertilizer are much more costly to buy and this cause them to the use of animal dung and human faeces for farming. The geohelminths contamination of fruits and vegetable sampled from different markets showed that Guava 15(75.0) recorded the highest prevalence. The reason why Guava fruits are generally from other areas around the LGA and so much more exposure during transportation thereby acquiring the parasiteeggs and larvae of these geohelminths. Also from the result of this analysis, the geohelminths contamination of vegetable sampled from different markets revealed that Green leaf vegetable (85.7) had the highest prevalence. It was observed that organic manure was added round about the plants shoot giving it more opportunity to infection than others.the study on the prevalence of geohelminths among fruits showed that eggs, larvae and cysts of various parasite were implicated, from these fruits sampled the study revealed that eggs and larva of Strongyloides stercoralis 14 (25.5) was highly recorded. The study on the geohelminths contamination of vegetables showed that among the parasites implicated, Hookworm 6 (33.3) has the highest prevalence of recovered from the items investigated. These geohelminth parasites are carried easily by runoff water or flood which then attach itself to the body of these fruits and vegetables thereby contaminating there items for public health risk. This study therefore supports other researchers (Eneanya and Njom, 2003, Uneke, 2004, Damen et al., 2007, Rosewell et al., 2010, Elom et al., 2012) that fruits and vegetables sold in various markets were highly contaminated by geohelminths parasites. In conclusion, the result from this study shows positive contamination of vegetables and fruits with geohelminth parasites of sample in Izzi LGA of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It is equally observed that higher contamination came from the human faeces used for the cultivation of these vegetables and fruits. These findings suggest the public health implication of vegetable and fruit farmers, sellers and consumers, being at high risk of infection with intestinal parasites especially eating improperly prepared vegetables and fruits. It becomes imperative to increase funding for proper epidemiological survey, hence reduce incidence of hospital admission and high demand of antihelminthic drugs.it is obvious that vegetables and fruits cannot be removed from human diet but control measures should be taken to reduce the rate of transmission of the intestinal parasites in diet. This can be achieved by maintenance of simple personal and environmental hygiene by sellers and consumers. References [1] Andrade, C., Alava, T., De Palacio, I.A., Del Poggio P, Jamoletti C, Gulletta M and Montresor, A. (2001) Prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminthiasis in the city of Portoviejo (Ecuador). Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz 96 (8):

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