Estimate of Loads of Parasitic Worm-Eggs in the Sludge Resulting from Some Wastewater Treatment Plants in Lattakia

This study was performed at three plants for sewage treatment in Syrian coastal villages: al-Hara, Murj-Muairban, and Hibbeat. Dry sludge samples were collected from drying sludge basins monthly, during the period October 2011-September 2012. We depended on different global ways to isolate the eggs from the sludge (flotation, sedimentation, filtration through special sieves). The microscopic study results of the sediment showed the presence of 5 different species of the parasitic worm-eggs, belonged taxonomically to five different species of parasitic worms, two species belonged to Nematoda: Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichura, and three species belonged to Platyhelminthes: one species of them belonged to Trematoda: Schistosoma mansoni, and the other two species belonged to cestodes: Taenia saginata, and Diphyllobothrium latum. The average number of worms eggs isolated from the dry sludge resulting from the three studied sewage treatment plants (al-Hara, Murj-Muairban, and Hibbeat) recorded relatively close values, the most number in the dry sludge resulting from the treatment plant in Hibbeat with an average 97.16% eggs/50g, then al-Hara with an average 75.08egg/50g dry sludge. Also the results showed that the isolated eggs were more diversed in Hibbeat treatment plant, this an indicator of the health status of the population in the studied sites. Study showed that the number and diversity of parasitic worm – eggs use more observed in Summer and Autumn than in Winter and Spring.