Introduction:

Currently, vegetables like lettuce are widely recommended as part of the daily diet given their high nutritional value; however, while consumers feel attracted to the benefits provided by the vegetable, they may also be exposed to parasitic intestinal infections.

Objective:

To determine the presence or absence of enteroparasites in lettuce (Lactuca sativa) grown in the rural area in the municipality of Pasto, and to analyze associated factors based on the characterization of the lands.

Materials and methods:

We conducted a descriptive double blind cross-sectional study. We took a total of 105 samples from 21 properties from June to December, 2013, and we processed them by sedimentation and flotation tests. Additionally, the owners were surveyed in order to obtain information about the possible variables influencing the occurrence of enteroparasites.

Results:

We detected contamination in 100% of the lettuce samples and we found parasite eggs and larvae as follows: 95.25% with Entamoeba spp. cysts; 71.43% with Isospora spp. oocysts; 61.90% with Strongyloides stercoralis larvae (L3); 28.57% with Toxocara spp. eggs, and 4.76% with Eimeria spp. oocysts. Using the chi-square test we found association between Entamoeba spp. and ditches (p=0.008), dogs (p=0.008) and septic tanks (p=0.029); between Isospora spp. and compost (p=0.0001), dogs (p=0.0001) and slugs (p=0.002); between S. stercoralis and handling (p=0.003), and between Toxocara spp. and no use of biodigesters (p= 0.002).

Conclusions:

We found contamination with enteroparasites in lettuce samples from growing areas in the municipality of Pasto with animal and human sources as their main reservoirs, although others were present in the environment.

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