Abstract:

Amaç The aims of the study were to investigate the prevalence of parasitic disease and to identify the most frequent types of intestinal parasites during pregnancy. Yöntem   Between May 2002 and July 2002, stool specimens were collected from 89 pregnant women (mean 21.3 weeks' gestation). The mean age of pregnants was 26.3 (SD 4.5) years who attended Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Harran University Hospital. Stool specimens were evaluated by direct microscopical analyzes of wet mounts. There were two patient groups; infected and non -infected. Also maternal anemin was evaluated in each group. SPSS 11.02 for Windows was used for statistical analyzes. Bulgular Of the 89 patients studied 42 (47.2%) were infected with at least one parasite. Five different types of parasites were identified. The incidence rates for Giardia lamblia, Ascaris lumbricoides and Entamoeba histolytica were demonstrated as 33.3%, 30.5% and 26.1% respectively. Chilomastix meslini was found as the fourth most common parasite (7.1%) in this study. The mean Hemoglobin (Hb) was 12.2 g/dL. There was no significant difference in maternal anemia between the two groups. Sonuç   Parasitic disease is the most common infectious disease complication of pregnancy worldwide. This study was find out high incidence of parasitic infection in pregnants in Şanlıurfa. Health education programmes should be considered.

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