Stool specimens of 1238 workers in western region of Saudi Arabia were examined for infection with intestinal parasites and for fecal occult blood (FOB) to investigate the possibility that enteroparasites correlate to occult intestinal bleeding. Direct smears and formal ether techniques were used for detection of diagnostic stages of intestinal parasites. A commercially available guaiac test was used to detect fecal occult blood. 47.01% of the workers were infected with intestinal parasites including eight helminthes species and eight protozoan species. The results provided no significant evidence ( ) that intestinal parasitic infection is in association with positive guaiac FOB test. 1. Introduction Human infections due to intestinal parasites caused by helminths and protozoa are among the most prevalent infections in developing and tropical countries causing a significant morbidity and mortality [1]. Human intestinal helminths include the nematodes (roundworms), the trematodes (flukes), and the cestodes (tapeworms). The human intestinal protozoa include nonpathogenic and pathogenic amoebae, nonpathogenic and pathogenic flagellates, and a pathogenic ciliate, in addition to human intestinal coccidian parasites. Fecal occult blood (FOB) refers to a nonvisible blood in the stool. Although the FOB test was developed to specifically screen for colon cancer [2, 3], there are various causes of positive FOB including infection with some intestinal parasites [4, 5]. From parasitologic point view, most of the published studies concerned with determination of FOB in patients infected with Trichuris trichiura, Hook worm, Schistosoma spp. and Entamoeba histolytica [6–14]. The aim of the present study was to determine if there is correlation between positive FOB and any of the common intestinal parasitic infection in Saudi Arabia. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Samples Collection Stool samples were obtained randomly from 1238 workers in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Each worker was provided with a clean stool container and instructions for collection. 2.2. Parasitologic Examination The direct smears and formal ether concentration techniques were used for detection of diagnostic stages of enteric parasites [15, 16]. Direct stool smears were performed by emulsifying 2？mg of stool uniformly in a drop of saline or iodine on a microscope slide, then covered with cover glasses and scanned microscopically. Formal ether concentration technique was performed by emulsifying 2？g of stool in 15？mL of 10% (v/v) formal-saline. In unpreserved specimens, the suspension was
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