Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among the Bulgarian population over a three year period (2015-2017)

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to perform a retrospective analysis of the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among the Bulgarian population over the period 2015-2017. The study involved all Bulgarians and foreign nationals residing in the country who had been tested for intestinal protozoa and helminths. A total of 23,785 infections have been revealed, of which 17,712 (74.47 %) were helminth and 6,073 (25.53 %) protozoan invasions. Enterobiasis was found to be the most prevalent among patients infected with intestinal helminths (81.75 %), while giardiasis (62.05 %) was the most common among those diagnosed with protozoan infections. In spite of improved living conditions and increasing public health awareness, parasitic diseases in general, and intestinal parasitic infections in particular, still represent a significant part of the overall morbidity in Bulgaria, thus posing a major issue for the public health care system.