This study was conducted to survey the prevalence of intestinal parasites in diarrhoeal patients in Adana, Turkey between April 2011 and March 2014.

Stool specimens from suspected of having intestinal parasites with diarrhoea 272 individuals were screened with wet mount examination for intestinal parasites, modified trichrome stain for Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar and Blastocystis spp., modified acid-fast stain for coccidian parasites, Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium spp., and real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, Blastocystis spp., and Cryptosporidium spp.

Intestinal parasites were detected in 25.4% (69/272) of subjects; Cryptosporidium spp. being the commonest (28) followed by Blastocystis spp., (16), Entamoeba dispar (7), Giardia lamblia (7), Entamoeba coli (5), Entamoeba histolytica (2), Isospora belli (2), Trichuris trichiura  (1) and Strongyloides stercoralis (1).

Real-time polymerase chain reaction indicate that the rapid, reliable, and standardized molecular test is sensitive and specific for diarrhoeal parasitic diseases and it seems probable that such a test would be more cost-effective than routine parasitological examinations.