IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON INTESTINAL PARASITIC INFECTIONS: EXPERIENCE OF PARASITOLOGY AND MYCOLOGY LABORATORY OF AVICENNA MILITARY HOSPITAL IN MARRAKECH

Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are a worldwide public health threat that remains frequent, especially in countries where hygienic conditions are precarious. The Covid-19 pandemic that the world is experiencing since March 2020 was associated with the establishment of a set of hygienic measures. The aim of this study is to highlight a possible impact of those measures on the prevalence of IPIs by evaluating the results of stool specimens examinations for patients of the Avicenna military hospital in Marrakech for a period extended from 2017 to 2022. The overall prevalence of IPIs was found to be 32%. The prevalence of protozoa infections was much higher than the prevalence of helminthic infections (95% vs. 5%). Amongst the protozoa, blastocystis hominis (BH) was the most common parasite. Our study showed a fall in the overall prevalence of IPIs starting from 2020 and a consequent drop in the prevalence of the most incriminated protozoa in parasitic diarrheas: entamoeba histolytica histolytica and giardia intestinalis. Those findings show the effectiveness of the hygiene measures, implemented during covid-19 pandemic, on the carriage of these parasites. The replacement of Entamoeba histolytica histolytica by blastocystis hominis in terms of pathogenicity could be explained by the reactivation of the carriage of BH due to the imbalance of the intestinal flora caused by the use of alcohol and bleach for sanitization. Therefore the present study highlights the positive impact of hygienic measures, carried out during covid-19 pandemic, on the prevalence of IPIs and leads us to emphasize the need to pursue those measures even outside the pandemic.