{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T13:12:05Z","timestamp":1784639525432,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,4]],"date-time":"2023-01-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1672790400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos grant program"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Peru is currently one of the world\u2019s leading culinary destinations, whose world-renowned cuisine uses vegetables, mainly lettuce, as frequent ingredients. Vegetable consumption is promoted worldwide as a part of a healthy diet. However, vegetables, more frequently lettuce, have been implicated as a vehicle of infection for several foodborne parasites. This study aimed to determine the presence of potentially pathogenic parasites in lettuce marketed in the Central Andes of Peru. A total of 75 lettuce samples were collected from the two largest wholesale markets and the main open-air market in Jauja province, in the central Peruvian Andes. The province of provenance (coast vs. highlands), lettuce variety (\u201ccurly-leaf\u201d, \u201ciceberg\u201d, and \u201cbutter\u201d), and type of market were recorded. The samples were microscopically examined for detection of parasitic life forms using standard parasitological methods including direct slide smear, Lugol\u2019s iodine staining, and Modified Ziehl\u2013Neelsen staining. The overall positivity of parasitic contamination in lettuces was 45.3% (CI 95%: 34\u201356.6%). Cryptosporidium spp., Isospora belli, Giardia lamblia, Balantidium coli, and Entamoeba spp. were detected in twenty-six (34.7%), six (8%), four (5.3%), two (2.7%), and two (2.7%) lettuces, respectively. I. belli was found in a significantly (p &lt; 0.01) lower proportion in the \u201cbutter\u201d variety, and significantly (p &lt; 0.05) higher contamination with G. lamblia was found in lettuce sold at the open-air market. B. coli, G. lamblia, and E. histolytica\/E. dispar\/E. moshkovskii were detected only in lettuce from the highlands (Tarma province). This study provides important data for health authorities to develop food safety programs. This information is also of interest to the international community because of the increased visibility that Peru has gained as a tourist destination.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20020943","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,5]],"date-time":"2023-01-05T02:28:53Z","timestamp":1672885733000},"page":"943","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["The Presence of Potentially Pathogenic Protozoa in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) Sold in Markets in the Central Peruvian Andes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4231-9506","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J. Raul","family":"Lucas","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Health and Public Health, Veterinary Medicine Faculty, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, San Borja, Lima 15021, Peru"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daphne","family":"Ramos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Health and Public Health, Veterinary Medicine Faculty, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, San Borja, Lima 15021, Peru"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S. Sonia","family":"Balc\u00e1zar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Health and Public Health, Veterinary Medicine Faculty, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, San Borja, Lima 15021, Peru"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carlos","family":"Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department Section of Food Technology, Veterinary Faculty, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (WHO) (2018). Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Consumption to Reduce the Risk of Non-Communicable Diseases, World Health Organization. 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