Examination of soil samples for the incidence of geohelminth parasites was conducted in urban and periurban areas of Ebonyi State between July – December, 2011. Three hundred (300) soil samples were obtained from five different locations (Nwofe-Agbaja, Onu-ebonyi area, Ntezi-abba, Umuogharu and Ezzagu) where vegetables and fruits are grown and accessed for the presence of geohelminthic eggs and larvae using a modified Cobb’s decanting and sieving methods. The results showed that 92 (30.7%) of soil samples were positive for different species of the parasites. Six soil transmitted helminthes were implicated for soil samples, namely, Hookworms 19 (6.3%), Ascaris lumbricoides 24 (8.0%), Strongloides stercoralis 17 (5.7%), Trichuris trichiura 14 (4.7%), Enterobius vermicularis 12 (4.0%) and Hymenolepis nana 6 (2.0%). Soil samples from Umuogharu was most contaminated 22 (7.3%), while the lowest was from the Ezzagu 15 (5.0%). The Prevalence by seasons (dry and wet), showed that dry season had higher contamination, 56 (18.7%) while wet season recorded 36 (`12.0%). However, the result was found not statistically significance (P> 0.05). The Incidence by the soil type showed that the proportion of ova recovered were 22 (7.3%) for loamy, 19 (6.3%) for sandy and 13 (4.3%) for clayey soil, while the proportion of larvae were 17 (5.7%) for loamy, 12 (4.0%) for sandy and 9 (3.0%) for clayey soils. The work highlighted the public health importance of consumption of these fruits and vegetables grown on faecally polluted environment, especially when not properly prepared. The results also indicated the presence of these parasites in the soil, hence, improper disposal of human faeces, insufficient supplies of potable water, as well as poor personal hygiene are the key factors for the transmission of these parasites.
