Soil-transmitted helminths in top soils used for horticultural purposes in Cape Coast, Ghana

Abstract

This paper investigated the concentrations of eggs of three helminths (roundworm, hookworm, and whipworm) in the so-called black soils used for domestic and urban landscaping,home gardening and as growth medium for potted plants and pot experiments. The black soils are largely collected from active or abandoned waste dumpsites and fallowed or vegetated idle sites in the urban fringe or rural areas. Users buy black soils from dealers. Samples of black soils used for various purposes and at different places werecollectedforanalysisofhelmintheggs.TheModifiedEPAMethod,whichcombinesflotationandsedimentation,wasusedto isolatetheeggs.Theresultsshowthattheseblacksoilshavesubstantialloadsofhelmintheggs,withroundwormbeingdominant, followedbyhookworm.Meanconcentrationsofhelmintheggswere2.45(roundworm),1.38(hookworm),and0.25(whipworm) g−1 soil,respectively.Thehelmintheggloadsalsodeclinedwithdurationofuseoftheblacksoils.Itisconcludedthatblacksoils used for horticultural purposes in Ghana can be a potential source of helminth infestation. Therefore, treatment of black soils, regulation of black soil market and use, anddevelopmentofgrowthmediaindustryshouldbeimportantcomponentsofhelminth control strategy