Identification of "Soil Transmitted Helminth" Contamination on The Raw Vegetables in Warung Pecel Lele in Kebon Jeruk District, Jakarta

Abstract

The prevalence of intestinal helminth infections in several provinces in Indonesia including Jakarta reaches 80% (or is still high). Helminth transmission may occur via food/drinks or through the skin. In particular, consumption of raw vegetables allows for the transmission of helminth eggs to happen. The purpose of this study was to identify intestinal worm eggs in raw vegetables sold in warung pecel lele. Raw vegetables were usually served together with the pecel lele menu which is a very popular dish among the Jakartans. The present study is a descriptive study with a cross sectional approach. Seventy-five samples of raw vegetables were included in this study, which were obtained from 25 warung pecel lele in Kebon Jeruk District, Jakarta. Samples were examined for helminth egg contamination based on a sedimentation method by lugol staining. Of all the raw vegetables samples, 20 samples (26.7%) was contaminated by soil transmitted helminths eggs. Ascaris lumbricoides worm eggs were identified in 17 samples (22.7%), whereas hookworm eggs were found in 3 samples (4%). The study suggests that the number of helminth egg contamination identified in raw vegetables are still high among warung pecel lele in West Jakarta.