Table 6 Contamination of vegetables and fruits with Balantidium coli, Cystoisospora belli, Blastocystis sp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi

Balantidium coli

Bangladesh

Sediment smears, followed by light microscopy

Vegetables

200

8 (4.0)

B. coli

[52]

Brazil

Sediment smears, followed by light microscopy

Loose leaf lettuce^a

1

1

B. coli

[30]

Red lettuce^a

1

1

B. coli

Curly lettuce^a

1

1

B. coli

Iceberg lettuce^a

1

1

B. coli

Parsley^a

1

1

B. coli

Chive^a

1

1

B. coli

Coriander^a

1

Cameroon

Sediment smears, followed by light microscopy

Green cabbage

30

3 (10.0)

B. coli (3)

[66]

Red cabbage

30

7 (23.3)

B. coli (7)

Lettuce

30

8 (26.7)

B. coli (8)

Cucumber

30

5 (16.7)

B. coli (5)

Carrots

30

4 (13.3)

B. coli (4)

Green pepper

30

2 (6.7)

B. coli (2)

Ethiopia

Sediment smears, followed by light microscopy

Tomato

100

0

[14]

Cabbage

96

4 (4.2)

B. coli-like (4)

Green pepper

66

6 (9.1)

B. coli-like (6)

Carrot

62

4 (6.5)

B. coli-like (4)

Salad

23

1 (4.3)

B. coli-like (1)

Ghana

Sediment smears, followed by light microscopy

Cabbage

72

21 (29.2)

B. coli (21)

[67]

Lettuce

72

3 (4.2)

B. coli (3)

Carrot

72

2 (2.8)

B. coli (2)

Spring onion

72

1 (1.4)

B. coli (1)

Tomatoes

72

22 (30.6)

B. coli (22)

Subtotal

1087

101 (9.3)

Cystoisospora belli

Ethiopia

Modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain

Fruits and vegetables

360

11 (3.1)

I. belli (11)

[32]

Ethiopia

Modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain

Tomatoes

45

0

[43]

Lettuce

45

1 (2.2)

C. belli (1)

Carrot

45

2 (4.4)

C. belli (2)

Cabbage

45

4 (8.8)

C. belli (4)

Green pepper

45

0

Avocado

45

0

Ghana

Ziehl-Neelsen stain

Cabbage

90

0

[12]

Green pepper

55

0

Carro

47

0

Onion

70

0

Tomato

31

1 (3.2)

I. beli (1)

Lettuce

102

0

Subtotal

1025

19 (1.9)

Blastocystis sp.

Brazil

Sediment being stained in Lugolʼs solution

Lettuce

100

15 (15.0)

B. hominis (15)

[15]

Coriander

100

19 (19.0)

B. hominis (19)

Italy

Lugolʼs stain, Giemsa Stain, and PCR

Ready-to-eat packaged salad

648

3 (0.5)

B. hominis (3)

[23]

Subtotal

848

37 (4.4)

Enterocytozoon bieneusi

China

PCR

Lettuce

200

14 (7.0)

E. bieneusi genotype CM8 (2); CD6 (7); EbpA (3); Henan-IV (1)

[36]

Coriander

152

1 (0.7)

E. bieneusi genotype CM8 (1)

Celery

70

1 (1.4)

E. bieneusi genotype EbpA (1)

Baby bok choy

59

1 (1.7)

E. bieneusi genotype CHV3 (1)

Chinese cabbage

47

0

Leaf lettuce

44

2 (4.5)

E. bieneusi genotype CHG19 (1)

Water spinach

28

3 (10.7)

E. bieneusi genotype CD6 (1); BEB8 (1); CTS3 (1)

Crown daisy

27

0

Fennel plant

26

1 (3.9)

E. bieneusi genotype EbpC (1)

Endive

25

1 (4.0)

E. bieneusi genotype Henan-IV (1)

Spinach

20

0

Schizonepeta

20

0

Cabbage

18

0

Leaf mustard

11

0

Chinese chive

132

6 (4.5)

E. bieneusi genotype CD6 (1); EbpA (2); EbpC (1); CHV1 (1)

Chive

128

4 (1.4)

E. bieneusi genotype CD6 (2); CHV2 (1); CTS3 (1)

Cucumber

41

1 (2.4)

E. bieneusi genotype CD6 (1)

Watermelon

15

1 (6.7)

E. bieneusi genotype CD6 (1)

Potato

3

1 (33.3)

E. bieneusi genotype CHV4 (1)

Bean (kidney/French bean)

28

4 (14.3)

E. bieneusi genotype CD6 (4)

Green chili

5

0

Costa Rica

Zielh-Nielsen stain

Lettuce

50

16 (32.0)

E. bieneusi (16)

[71]

Parsley

50

0

Cilantro

50

2 (4.0)

E. bieneusi (2)

Strawberries

50

1 (2.0)

E. bieneusi (1)

Blackberries

50

0

Poland

Conventional stain and FISH

Berries

25

6 (24.0)

E. intestinalis (4); E. bieneusi (2)

[21]

Sprouts

20

1 (5.0)

E. bieneusi (1)

Vegetables

35

2 (5.7)

E. cuniculi (1); E. bieneusi (1)

Sub-total

1429

52 (3.6)