Parasitic infection is highly prevalent throughout the developing countries of the world. These infections are the major problem in rehabilitation centers for the mentally retarded. There have been many reports about the prevalence of parasitic infection among different groups of people in Iran; however, the epidemiological data in intellectual disability (ID) individuals are rare and there are no such data from northern Iran. The aim of the present study was to determine the incidence of intestinal parasitic infections among the inhabitants of rehabilitation centers of Mazandaran province, northern Iran. A triple fecal specimens was collected from each of the 362 participants (183 males, 179 females) residing in six rehabilitation centers of Behshahr, Sari, Amol, Nowshahr and Ramsar. Each specimen was examined by direct wet mounting, formol-ether concentration, Ziehl-Neelsen and trichrome permanent staining. The overall infection rate of intestinal parasite was 26.2% (95 out of 362 subjects; 22.4% in males and 30.2% in females). Giardia lamblia was the most commonly found protozoan parasite (8.0%) followed by Entamoeba coli (5.5%), Blastocystis hominis (3.3%), Endolimax nana (2.8%) and Entamoeba histolytica (1.7%). Double infections were E. coli and B. hominis (1.1%), G. lamblia and Chilomastix mesnili (1.1%), G. lamblia and B. hominis (0.5%), G. lamblia and E. coli (0.5%), E. histolytica and E. coli (0.5%), E. nana and E. coli (0.5%) and E. nana and B. hominis (0.5%). No egg-positive case was found. These helminthic parasites were found to be not common among the participants, 75% of whom had been treated with mebendazole by guardians as a tradition, every 6 months. Nevertheless, our data in rehabilitation centers in northern Iran suggest that infection is not higher than that in community population in recent years in this geographical area.
Intestinal parasitic infections are still a serious public health problem in the world, especially in developing countries (Quihua et al., 2006). The fecal oral route is significant in the transmission of parasite infections to humans via poor personal hygiene (Okey, Ertug, Gultekin, Onen, & Baser, 2004), environmental conditions like contamination of soil and water sources with human feces (Muttalib, Huq, Huq, & Suzuki, 1983). Infection with intestinal parasite as a major problem has been recognized to spread within institutions for the mentally retarded because of inadequate personal hygiene and lack of toilet training (Naiman, Sekla, & Albritton, 1980). Mentally retarded individuals are usually placed in institutions during childhood or adolescent and are highly debilitated patients who require care and treatment specially for infectious diseases (Geller, Eyman, & Dingman, 1964). Several surveys of institutions for the mentally retarded in the world have reported a wide range of prevalence (20–60%) of intestinal parasitism (Yoeli, Most, Hammond, & Scheinesson, 1972). A prevalence rate of 7.3% was found among individuals with mental retardation in New York State (Schupf, Ortiz, Kapell, Kiely, & Rudelli, 1995). Few epidemiological surveys performed in mentally retarded centers in Iran revealed a different prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection (Mahyar et al., 2000 and Rohanni, 1994). An investigation was undertaken to determine the prevalence of parasitic diseases in intellectual disability persons in rehabilitation centers of Mazandaran province, northern Iran.
