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Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases in the Gaza Strip, Palestine: A Continuing Health Problem

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Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World

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Abstract

Intestinal parasitic diseases continue to be one of the greatest health problems in the developing world. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 3.5 billion people worldwide continue to be affected by intestinal parasitic infections. Intestinal parasites and other parasitic diseases are endemic in the Gaza Strip for decades, despite the improvement in infrastructure as in other developing countries. The existence and fluctuation of the intestinal parasites and other parasitic diseases should be considered while health planning, as infections can lead to malnutrition, anemia, cognitive ability, and other health problems. Due to the many unfavorable health conditions in the Gaza Strip, these intestinal parasites continue to survive. There are many reports on parasitic diseases in the Gaza Strip, including the epidemiology of intestinal parasites, prevalence, diagnosis, the association between intestinal parasites and malnutrition and environmental contamination caused by these parasites, and sexually transmitted parasitic diseases such as Trichomonas vaginalis. This chapter discusses infections with intestinal parasites and other parasitic diseases in the Gaza Strip and its treatments in children and adults. The challenges encountered during diagnosis and the associated risk factors are also addressed, followed by some proposed solutions to decrease/minimize further increases in infections with intestinal parasites in the Gaza Strip.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Laboratory Sciences Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, Palestine

    Adnan Ibrahim Al-Hindi

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  1. Adnan Ibrahim Al-Hindi
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Correspondence to Adnan Ibrahim Al-Hindi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology Pharmacology and Therapeutics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Ismail Laher

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Community Medicine, Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science & Technology, Irbid, Jordan

    Yousef Saleh Khader BDS, MSc, MSPH, MHPE, FFPH

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Al-Hindi, A.I. (2021). Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases in the Gaza Strip, Palestine: A Continuing Health Problem. In: Laher, I. (eds) Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36811-1_93

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