the high prevalence is related to poor personal sanitation , unsafe water supply , and lack of health education ( 1 ) . some of those are pathogenic , like giardia lamblia , and entamoeba histolytica , and some are nonpathogenic forms , living in gastrointestinal tract as commensals ( 1 ) . e. histolytica , causative agent of amoebiasis , is a parasitic infection with considerable worldwide morbidity and mortality ( 2 ) . g. lamblia is the most common infection in temperate and tropical countries ( 1 ) . the prevalence of g. lamblia has been estimated that 2 3% in the developed countries and 2030% in developing countries ( 3 , 4 ) . blastocystis hominis is a common intestinal protozoan and its pathogenicity is still controversial ( 57 ) . the prevalence of b. hominis has been reported to be higher in developing countries ( 3050% ) than developed countries ( 1.510% ) ( 8) . soil - transmitted helminthes ( sth ) infections are widely distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics . climate , moisture and warm temperature are important elements of transmission of these infections ( 9 ) . the most prevalent these helminthes infections are ancylostoma duodenale , necator americanus , ascaris lumbricoides and trichuris trichiura that infect approximately one - sixth of people all over the world ( 10 , 11 ) . there are low rates of tapeworm infections in muslim populations in different regions of asia and africa . however , there are some reports from africa ( 1215 ) . regarding to climate variation and different social and cultural condition in iran , epidemiologic survey in different areas records on intestinal parasitic infections have been reported from some parts of iran ( 1620 ) , however , there are no data available on distribution of intestinal parasitic infection in jiroft , kerman province . in this study we evaluated intestinal parasitic infection rates in jiroft , kerman province this study was performed in jiroft , located approximately 248 km 

 southeast of kerman province ( fig . jiroft have a population of 277,748 , among them 121,988 people ( 36% ) living in urban areas and the rest in rural areas . jiroft is considered as the most suitable region in kerman province for agriculture ( available at : 
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jiroft_county 
 ) . situation of jiroft in kerman province , southeast iran during 20132014 , 1060 individuals including 563(53.1% ) from rural and 497(46.9% ) from urban areas of jiroft were selected by accidental systematic method . fresh stool samples were collected from all individuals and examined by formalin ether concentration and agar plate culture . examinations of samples for parasitic infections were performed in the department of medical parasitology , school of public health , tehran university of medical sciences . for every individual a questioner was filled and data about gender , age , place of residency , education , job , gastrointestinal disorder and contact with soil or animals , source of drinking water and use of sanitary toilets were entered . analysis was performed using spss version 18 ( chicago , il , usa ) and chi - square test was used to analyze statistical relationship between prevalence of parasites and different criteria entered in the questioners . this study was performed in jiroft , located approximately 248 km 

 southeast of kerman province ( fig . jiroft have a population of 277,748 , among them 121,988 people ( 36% ) living in urban areas and the rest in rural areas . jiroft is considered as the most suitable region in kerman province for agriculture ( available at : 
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jiroft_county 
 ) . during 20132014 , 1060 individuals including 563(53.1% ) from rural and 497(46.9% ) from urban areas of jiroft were selected by accidental systematic method . fresh stool samples were collected from all individuals and examined by formalin ether concentration and agar plate culture . examinations of samples for parasitic infections were performed in the department of medical parasitology , school of public health , tehran university of medical sciences . for every individual a questioner was filled and data about gender , age , place of residency , education , job , gastrointestinal disorder and contact with soil or animals , source of drinking water and use of sanitary toilets were entered . analysis was performed using spss version 18 ( chicago , il , usa ) and chi - square test was used to analyze statistical relationship between prevalence of parasites and different criteria entered in the questioners . out of 1060 individuals , 563 people ( 53.1% ) and 497 people ( 46.9% ) were from rural and urban areas , respectively . infection rate in rural areas ( 29.3% ) was more than urban areas ( 26.2% ) , without significant difference . the prevalence of infection with intestinal protozoa and helminth parasites are summarized in table 1.the prevalence of infection for protozoa and helminthes infections were 27.4% and 1.8% , respectively . the most prevalent protozoan parasite was b. hominis ( 13.7% ) ; followed by g. lamblia ( 7.8% ) . prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in jiroft , kerman province , according to gender the prevalence rates of infection in females and males were 29% and 27% , respectively . there was no significant correlation between gender and infection rates . although the most prevalence rate of infection was found in age group of 3039 years ( 34.9% ) ; but , there was no significant correlation between age and prevalence of infection . the highest giardia infection rate was found in age group 09 years old ( 11.6 % ) and there was significant correlation between age and prevalence of giardia infection ( p - value : 0.023 ) . respect to the job , the most infected people was pastors ( 37.5% ) and housekeepers ( 32.2% ) ; but there was no significant correlation between job and infection rates . the prevalence rates of infection in people who consumed drinking water from different sources including wells , pipe and spring were 41.3% , 28.1% and 18.6% , respectively . there was statistical correlation between water supply and infection rates ( p - value : 0.001 ) ( fig . 2 ) . prevalence of intestinal parasites in jiroft , kerman according to the source of drinking water there was significant correlation between use of unsanitary toilet and rate of infection ( p : 0.031 ) . there was no statistical correlation between gastrointestinal disorders , and contact with soil or animal and infectivity with intestinal parasites . in general , 29 individuals ( 28% ) were infected with intestinal parasites ; among those , 254 ( 85.5% ) , 35(11.8% ) , 7 ( 2.4% ) , and 1(0.3% ) individuals had one , two , three and four parasites , respectively . consumption of unsafe drinking water , lack of sanitation and hygiene are strong determinants for infection with intestinal protozoa ( 2123 ) . in the current study , prevalence of parasitic infection in part of khuzestan province , southwest iran was 25.2% in 2007 ( 20 ) . the prevalence of infection for protozoan and helminthic infection in the present study were 27.4% and 1.8% , respectively . the result of this study showed the highest prevalence of intestinal protozoa was related to b. hominis ( 13.7% ) , followed by g. lamblia ( 7.8% ) . prevalence of e. coli , i. butschilli and e. histolytica / dispar were 7.2% and 1.8% and 0.9 , respectively . b. hominis and g. lamblia were the most common parasites in some of studies ( 1 , 1720 ) . b.hominis ( 31.7% ) and g. lamblia ( 29.6% ) were the most prevalent protozoa in the tonekabon ( 18 ) . shojaei , et al . reported the prevalence of 10.7% for intestinal parasites in tehran during 20042005 and b. hominis and g. lamblia were the most frequent intestinal parasites ( 25 ) . in a survey on 196 disable people in golestan province in 2009 , the most common protozoa was b.hominis ( 4.2% ) and prevalence of g. lamblia , e. coli and e. histolytica / dispar were ( 3.1% ) , ( 2.5% ) and ( 1.5% ) , respectively ( 26 ) . the prevalence rates of infection in this study were 29% and 27% in female and male , respectively . similarly , the results of some other studies showed that gender is not a factor subscribe to the differences in possibility of intestinal parasitic infections ( 17 , 18 , 27 , 28 ) . in the present study , the highest infection rate ( 34.9% ) was found in 3039 yr old age group , although there was no significant correlation between age and parasitic infection rates . the highest giardia infection ( 11.6% ) was found in 09 yr old age group , as it is expected , there was significant correlation between age and giardia infection rates ( p= 0.023 ) . in the present study , the most prevalent helminth infection was hymenolepis nana ( 1.1% ) , followed by ascaris lumbricoides 0.2% ) and enterobius vermicularis ( 0.2% ) . intestinal helminth infection in isfahan in 1987 ( 19 ) was reported 80.7% and the most common helminthes were trichuris trichiura ( 76.7% ) and a. lumbricoides ( 46.7% ) . the most common helminthes infections in that study were t. trichiura ( 26.8% ) and a. lumbricoides ( 17.8% ) . prevalence of parasitic infection in tonekabon in 1992 ( 18 ) was 74.6% and high rates of helminthes infections were related to t. trichiura ( 22.5% ) and a.lumbricoides ( 6.3% ) . low prevalence of intestinal helminth infections in jiroft is in concordance with the result of recent studies in other parts of iran ( 16 , 19 , 20 ) , indicating decrease of infection compared to last decades . in the current study , the most common co - infection was observed between b. hominis and e. coli in13 cases ( 4.3% ) . considering other criteria , there was no significant correlation between place of residency ( rural or urban ) , education , job , gastrointestinal disorder , and contact with soil or animals and parasitic infection rates . so that , prevalence of infection in people who consumed well water ( 41.3% ) and untreated pipe water ( 28.1% ) were more than that of spring water ( 18.6% ) ; and the difference between water supply and infection rate was statistically significant ( p : 0.001 ) . in addition , in this study , there was significant correlation between use of unsanitary toilet and infection rate . therefore , unsafe water supply and unsanitary toilets are important causative agents for intestinal parasitic infection in the study area . in spite of decreasing trend of parasitic infection in iran , compared to past decades , nowadays - intestinal parasitic infections are still one of the public health problems wherever safe water and hygiene measures are lacking .
background : intestinal parasitic infections have a worldwide distribution . 
 high prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in individuals with low socioeconomic status and environmental conditions was found . 
 no study has ever been conducted on the prevalence of these infections in jiroft . 
 therefore , in this study prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections was evaluated in jiroft , kerman province , iran.methods:a total of 1060 individuals from rural and urban areas of jiroft were sampled accidentally , during 20132014 . 
 fresh stool samples were collected from all individuals and examined by formalin ether concentration and agar plate culture . 
 direct examination was performed on watery samples.results:out of 1060 individuals , 563 ( 53.1% ) and 497 ( 46.9% ) people were from rural and urban areas , respectively . 
 in general , 297 individuals ( 28% ) were infected with intestinal parasites . 
 the prevalence of infection for protozoa and helminthes infections were 27.4% and 1.8% , respectively . 
 the most prevalent protozoans were blastocystis hominis ( 13.7% ) and giardia lamblia ( 7.8% ) , and that of helminth was hymenolepis nana ( 1.1%).conclusion : intestinal protozoan parasites were more prevalent than helminth parasites . 
 source of water supply and personal hygiene were important factors in the distribution of parasites in the study area .