Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology最新文献

{"title":"Human visceral leishmaniasis: decrease in serum cholesterol as a function of splenic parasite load.","authors":"J Ghosh, C S Lal, K Pandey, V N R Das, P Das, K Roychoudhury, S Roy","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12899838683566","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12899838683566","url":null,"abstract":"Kala azar or human visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a debilitating disease associated with hepato–splenomegaly, anaemia, thrombocytopaenia and immunosuppression (Pearson et al., 1983). The predominant causative agent, Leishmania donovani, replicates within the reticulo-endothelial system of the liver, and the liver parenchyma, although initially unaffected, is slowly damaged as the disease progresses (Alsaffar and Al Mudhaffar, 1979). Consequently, hepatic dysfunction — showing as coagulation defects and changes in the serum concentrations of several liver-specific enzymes — is typical of VL (Chakroborty et al., 1949). \u0000 \u0000As the liver is the main source of cholesterol biosynthesis in mammals (Tennent et al., 1957), hepatic dysfunction may lead to low serum concentrations of cholesterol and this may lead to further morbidity. Hypocholesterolaemic men tend to have significantly fewer circulating lymphocytes, total T cells, helper T-cells and CD8+ cells than hypercholesterolaemic men (Muldoon et al., 1997). In their meta-analysis of 19 cohort studies covering 68,406 deaths, Jacobs et al. (1992) found an inverse correlation between blood concentrations of cholesterol and mortality from respiratory and gastro-intestinal diseases (most of which are of infectious origin). Subsequently, in a 15-year follow-up study of >120,000 individuals, Iribarren et al. (1998) found a strong inverse association between blood concentrations of cholesterol and the risk of being admitted to hospital because of an infectious disease. It appears that hypercholesterolaemia may confer a survival advantage in many, if not all, infectious diseases. In an experimental study, Netea et al. (1996) showed that mice deficient in receptors for low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and with endogenous hypercholesterolaemia were protected against infection with Gram-negative micro-organisms, the lower cholesterol levels observed being associated with increased mortality. In tuberculosis, serum concentrations of cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein and LDL can be used as indirect markers of disease severity, with relatively low levels indicative of advanced disease (Rao, 2009). Akerlund et al. (1986) described how, in patients with severe bacterial infections, total serum cholesterol concentrations were lowered during the acute stage of their disease. \u0000 \u0000Decreased serum cholesterol has already been reported in patients with VL (Lal et al., 2007). In experimentally infected hamsters, Banerjee et al. (2009) not only demonstrated a significant decrease in membrane cholesterol during the active stage of L. donovani infection but also found that the liposomal delivery of cholesterol offered significant protection. These observations led to the present study, which was focused on cholesterol and not other lipids. In this study, since cellular cholesterol and serum cholesterol are in dynamic equilibrium (Chobanian et al., 1962), serum concentrations of cholesterol in Indian patients with VL were determ","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"267-71"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12899838683566","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29899126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An apparent halt to the decline of Simulium woodi in the Usambara foci of onchocerciasis in Tanzania.","authors":"A Kalinga, R J Post","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12899838683403","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12899838683403","url":null,"abstract":"There are currently 11–13 foci of human onchocerciasis recognised in Tanzania (Raybould and White, 1979; Maegga, 1991). The disease was first recorded in the country by Fischer (1932), from Rungwe (within the modern-day Tukuyu focus). Nine years later the disease was recorded by Gabathuler and Gabathuler (1947), from Ulanga district, in what is now known as the Mahenge focus. It was not until 1957 that a third focus was discovered in Tanzania, in the eastern block of the Usambara mountains (in Tanga region), by Mario Giaquinto-Mira (Woodman, 1958). Another focus was found in 1964, in the western block of the same mountains (Laing and Wegesa, 1965). \u0000 \u0000Since 1963 the human onchocerciasis in the Usambara mountains has been the subject of research based at the East African Institute of Malaria and Vector-borne Diseases in Amani (now the Amani Medical Research Centre of the National Institute for Medical Research). Data collected in 1963–1964 indicated that, in several study sites in the Eastern Usambara focus, the mean prevalence of human infection with Onchocerca volvulus was 32% (Laing and Wegesa, 1965). When four localities in this focus were resurveyed in 1970, mean prevalence in the four sites was found to have increased to 46% (from the 29% recorded in 1963–1964), possibly because increasing agricultural activity had resulted in increased exposure to vector biting (Wegesa and Chimtawi, 1971). In 1984, however, Muro and Mziray (1990) resurveyed nine localities from the 1963–1964 survey and found that mean prevalence had decreased to 26% (from the 33% recorded in the same sites in 1963–1964), possibly because of continuing deforestation. Compared with its eastern counterpart, the Western Usambara focus is less well known, but Sprengel (1967, 1968) did much to define it (finding a mean prevalence, of human infection, of 37%) and Dunbar (1975) extended its known range. In the 1990s about 5000 and 19,000 people were thought to be infected with O. volvulus in the Western and Eastern Usambara foci, respectively (Mwaiko et al., 1990; Walsh and Maegga, 1996). In 2001 the National Onchocerciasis Control Programme of the Tanzanian Ministry of Health started annual, community-directed treatment with ivermectin (CDTI) simultaneously over all of the endemic areas in Tanga region (i.e. the Eastern Usambara mountains within the Muheza and Mchinga districts and the Western Usambara mountains within the Korogwe and Lushoto districts). \u0000 \u0000The vector of O. volvulus throughout the Usambaras is Simulium woodi (a member of the S. neavei group) (Raybould and White, 1979). When Raybould (1967) studied transmission of the parasite, through weekly biting catches over 13 months (1963–1964) at a single site near Amani, in the Eastern Usambara focus, he found a mean daily biting rate (DBR) for S. woodi of 42·8, with 33·6% of the collected flies found parous and 17·3% of the parous flies found infected with O. volvulus. The corresponding mean DBR recorded in two catches at ","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"273-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12899838683403","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29899127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Human malaria in the highlands of Yemen.","authors":"A M Al-Mekhlafi, H M Al-Mekhlafi, M A K Mahdy, A A Azazy, M Y Fong","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12987676649421","DOIUrl":"10.1179/136485911X12987676649421","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><title/> Between June 2008 and March 2009, a cross-sectional study of human malaria was carried out in four governorates of Yemen, two (Taiz and Hodiedah) representing the country's highlands and the others (Dhamar and Raymah) the country's coastal plains/foothills. The main aims were to determine the prevalences of Plasmodium infection among 455 febrile patients presenting for care at participating health facilities and to investigate the potential risk factors for such infection. Malarial infection was detected in 78 (17·1%) of the investigated patients and was more likely to be detected among the febrile patients from the highlands than among those presenting in the coastal plains/foothills (22·6% v.13·9%; χ(2)=10·102; P=0·018). Binary logistic-regression models identified low household income [odds ratio (OR)=13·52; 95% confidence interval (CI)=2·62-69·67; P=0·002], living in a household with access to a water pump (OR=4·18; CI=1·60-10·96; P=0·004) and living in a household near a stream (OR=4·43; CI=1·35-14·56; P=0·014) as significant risk factors for malarial infection in the highlands. Low household income was the only significant risk factor identified for such infection in the coastal plains and foothills (OR = 8·20; CI=1·80-37·45; P=0·007). It is unclear why febrile patients in the highlands of Yemen are much more likely to be found to have malarial infection than their counterparts from the coastal plains and foothills. Although it is possible that malarial transmission is relatively intense in the highlands, it seems more likely that, compared with those who live at lower altitudes, those who live in the highlands are less immune to malaria, and therefore more likely to develop febrile illness following malarial infection. Whatever the cause of the symptomatic malarial infection commonly found in the highlands of Yemen, it is a matter of serious concern that should be addressed in the national strategy to control malaria.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"187-95"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4090792/pdf/atm-105-03-187.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30043008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epidemiological aspects of the transmission of the parasites causing human African trypanosomiasis in Angola.","authors":"P Truc,&nbsp;P Grébaut,&nbsp;A Lando,&nbsp;F Makiadi Donzoau,&nbsp;L Penchenier,&nbsp;S Herder,&nbsp;A Geiger,&nbsp;G Vatunga,&nbsp;T Josenando","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12987676649467","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12987676649467","url":null,"abstract":"Until the last few years, most cases of sleeping sickness or human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) occurred in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, with 17,673 cases detected in Angola alone among the 1,660,111 Angolans who were screened between 2001 and 2007 (T. Josenando, unpubl. obs.). \u0000 \u0000Angola is divided into 18 provinces (see Figure). The chronic form of HAT, caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, occurs in seven of the 14 provinces where tsetse flies are present (in Bengo, Cuanza Norte, Uige, Cuanza Sul, Zaire, Malange, and the periphery of Luanda). The acute form of the disease, caused by T. b. rhodesiense transmitted by Glossina morsitans centralis, could once be found in the southern province of Cuando Cubango (where 30% of new Angolan HAT cases were diagnosed between 1964 and 1974; T. Josenando, unpubl. obs.). Most of the human population of this province moved to northern Angola during the civil war that ran from 1975 to 2002, however, probably leading to the disappearance of T. b. rhodesiense from Cuando Cubango and, therefore, from Angola as a whole (T. Josenando, unpubl. obs.). \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000Map of Angola, showing the provinces where human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is endemic (hatched) and the location of the village of Maria Teresa, in and around which tsetse were caught in pyramidal traps. Note that HAT is only endemic on the periphery ... \u0000 \u0000 \u0000 \u0000HAT in Angola is poorly documented, with no recent publications on the disease in the country. In 2007, the French Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (UMR 177) and the Angolan Instituto de Combate e Controlo das Tripanossomiases (ICCT) began collaborative research on the disease at Viana Hospital, which lies in Luanda province, 20 km to the east of Luanda city. The staff at the Viana Hospital only treat HAT cases, most of whom come from Bengo province. A year later, in an attempt to reinforce the tsetse-control capacity of the ICCT, an entomological study was conducted in and around the village of Maria Teresa (a community in Bengo province with particularly high incidences of HAT). The preliminary results of the collaborative research at Viana Hospital and the entomological survey in Maria Teresa are presented below.","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"261-5"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12987676649467","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29899125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Schistosomiasis mansoni: ultrasound-evaluated hepatic fibrosis and serum concentrations of hyaluronic acid.","authors":"C C Silva,&nbsp;A L Domingues,&nbsp;E P Lopes,&nbsp;C N Morais,&nbsp;R B Santos,&nbsp;C F Luna,&nbsp;H B Nader,&nbsp;J R Martins","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12987676649629","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12987676649629","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Schistosomiasis mansoni is a fibrogenic liver disease that constitutes a major health problem in north-eastern Brazil. Although one common manifestation of the disease, periportal fibrosis (PPF), can be assessed by ultrasonography by well-trained physicians, the necessary equipment and personnel are not always readily available. Serum markers, including hyaluronic acid (HA), have been used as alternative means of measuring fibrosis. Recently serum concentrations of HA have been evaluated in 77 Brazilians (61 cases of schistosomiasis mansoni and 16 healthy controls) and compared against the ultrasound-evaluated PPF in the same subjects. The HA was measured using a non-competitive fluorescence-based assay, while the PPF was explored using a portable ultrasound scanner (SSD-500; Aloka, Tokyo) and graded, as patterns A-F, according to the World Health Organization's 'Niamey protocol'. In general, the serum concentrations of HA were found to be positively correlated with the severity of the PPF. The mean concentration of HA in the sera of the 16 controls was significantly lower than that recorded in the schistosomiasis cases who showed PPF of patterns D or E (P<0·001 for each). The cases who showed pattern-C PPF also had significantly less HA in their sera than the cases with PPF of patterns D or E (P<0·001 for each), and the cases with pattern-D fibrosis had significantly lower HA concentrations in their sera than the cases with PPF of pattern E (P<0·001). In an analysis based on a receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curve, an HA concentration of 20·2 μg/litre of serum was identified as a threshold that could be used to distinguish moderate cases of PPF (i.e. patterns C or D) from the more advanced cases (i.e. patterns E or F), with a sensitivity of 60% and specificity of 65%. In conclusion, it appears that serum concentrations of hyaluronic acid could be used as markers for periportal fibrosis in patients with schistosomiasis mansoni.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"233-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12987676649629","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29899122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The PCR-based detection and identification of the parasites causing human cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Iranian city of Ahvaz.","authors":"M Ghasemian,&nbsp;S Maraghi,&nbsp;A R Samarbafzadeh,&nbsp;A Jelowdar,&nbsp;M Kalantari","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12899838683520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12899838683520","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In Iran, Leishmania major or L. tropica cause almost all of the human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Unfortunately, the detection methods frequently used for CL (the microscopical examination of direct smears or the culture of biopsies) are not very sensitive and the Leishmania species causing each case of CL in Iran is usually only tentatively identified from extrinsic factors, such as the case's clinical manifestations and region of residence. Recently, however, a nested PCR that targets the parasites' kinetoplast DNA has been used in the city of Ahvaz (the capital of the province of Khouzestan, in south-western Iran) to confirm the microscopical diagnosis of CL and to identify the causative parasites, to species level. Smears from the lesions on 100 suspected cases of CL were fixed, stained with Wright's eosin-methylene blue, and checked for amastigotes under a light microscope. Scrapings from the same smears were then tested for leishmanial DNA, using a nested PCR that allows the DNA from L. tropica to be identified and distinguished from that of L. major. The 100 smears investigated were all found amastigote-positive by microscopy and PCR-positive for either L. major DNA (97 smears) or L. tropica DNA (three smears). The predominant species causing CL in Ahvaz is therefore L. major.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"209-15"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12899838683520","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29899119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Post-earthquake outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in a rural region of southern Iran.","authors":"M R Fakoorziba,&nbsp;A Baseri,&nbsp;F Eghbal,&nbsp;S Rezaee,&nbsp;K Azizi,&nbsp;M D Moemenbellah-Fard","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12899838683449","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12899838683449","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Human cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is of increasing public-health importance in Iran. On 10 July 2003, two mild earthquakes struck the rural town of Zarindasht in the southern Iranian province of Fars. The results of passive detection of CL cases in this town (in which patients with any skin lesions were evaluated) from April 2002 to April 2004 indicated that the earthquakes may have led to an outbreak of the disease; annual incidence increased from 58·6 detected cases/100,000 in the 12 months before the earthquakes to (an outbreak peak of) 864 detected cases/100,000 in the following 12 months. In addition, the incidence of detected CL in the town that was struck by the earthquakes in 2003 was significantly higher in the 12 months after the earthquakes than that recorded, over the same 12 months, for Fars province as a whole (P<0·05). Most (70%) of the cases detected in the town were aged ≤10 years, about half (50·4%) of the detected skin lesions were on the face, and most (89·7%) of the skin lesions were caused by Leishmania major. Incidence over the study period showed marked seasonality, with most (79·5%) of the detected cases occurring between November and February. In areas where the disease is endemic, CL may need to be considered among the health threats posed by natural disasters such as earthquakes, and increased surveillance for CL after future earthquakes may be justified.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"217-24"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12899838683449","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29899120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Elevated concentrations of matrix metalloproteinase-12 and elastin degradation products in the sera of pregnant women infected with Toxoplasma gondii.","authors":"P-H Chou,&nbsp;S-C Lai","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12987676649502","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12987676649502","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12) appears to be increased in most inflammatory diseases, the role of this enzyme in the pathogenesis of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women, if any, is unknown. In a recent study in Taiwan, the serum concentrations of MMP-12 and its substrate elastin were evaluated in pregnant women with Toxoplasma gondii infection. Compared with the healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women used as controls, the pregnant women with toxoplasmosis had significantly higher serum concentrations of MMP-12 and significantly higher levels of elastin synthesis and degradation. Interaction between MMP-12 and elastin in the serum samples was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation. It seems possible that MMP-12 may contribute to elastin degradation occurring during the pathogenesis of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"225-31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12987676649502","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29899121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevalence, risk factors and treatment-seeking behaviour for malaria: the results of a case study from the Terai region of West Bengal, India.","authors":"S Mazumdar","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12987676649548","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12987676649548","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>India is among the countries that are worse affected by human malaria, one of the major vector-borne diseases that continue to affect vast populations across the world. In a recent household survey in the Terai region of eastern India, the factors that might explain the occurrence and clustering of human malaria and the consequent healthcare-seeking behaviour of the human population were explored. The topography and geo-climatic conditions in Terai appear to intensify the risks of malaria but some socio-economic attributes, such as engagement in agricultural occupations, poor economic status and congested household environments, were also identified as significant risk factors for the disease. In the study area, public health facilities predominate as sources of medical care for malaria, although, at least in the early stages of treatment seeking, informal providers and pharmacies are also often involved. Unfortunately, despite the high frequency of malarial outbreaks, the local public health facilities were found to be ill-equipped to tackle and contain the spread of malaria. Preventive public-health measures, health education on malaria and malaria-awareness exercises were found to be scarce and irregular. The reliance on a reactive strategy of offering curative care to the affected led to overcrowding in healthcare facilities and shortages of medicines and diagnostic procedures. Along with a more efficient and reliable emergency system to deal with major outbreaks of malaria, more effective convergent interventions, by the local government and other stakeholders, should be developed to help prevent the disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"197-208"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12987676649548","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"30043009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intestinal parasitic infections among children in central Albania.","authors":"A Sejdini,&nbsp;R Mahmud,&nbsp;Y A L Lim,&nbsp;M Mahdy,&nbsp;F Sejdini,&nbsp;V Gjoni,&nbsp;K Xhaferraj,&nbsp;G Kasmi","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12987676649584","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12987676649584","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although intestinal parasitic infections (IPI) among children remain a global issue, the current information on such infections in Albanian children is very limited. A cross-sectional study of the IPI in 321 children living in the Albanian counties of Tirana (152) and Elbasan (169) was therefore conducted in 2008, with a pre-tested standard questionnaire employed to gather the relevant personal and clinical data. Using formalin-ether concentration and permanent stains, stool samples were examined microscopically for the ova, cysts and oocysts of any parasites. The overall prevalence of IPI was 19% (61 of 321), with protozoan infections (11·5%) apparently more common than infections with soil-transmitted helminths (STH; 8·1%). Giardia duodenalis was the parasite most frequently detected (10·9%), followed by hookworm (5·6%), Ascaris lumbricoides (1·9%), Trichuris trichiura (0·6%), Cryptosporidium (0·3%) and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar (0·3%). The results of a univariate analysis indicated that the children from Tirana county were significantly more likely to be found infected with STH compared with the children from Elbasan county (12·5% v. 4·1%; P=0·006). Children sampled in the community were also more likely to be found STH-positive than the children sampled as they attended hospitals and health clinics (10·5% v. 6·0%) but this difference did not reach statistical significance. The children found STH-positive were five times more likely to be suffering from diarrhoea than the other children checked in clinical settings (P=0·004) and were also more likely to be suffering from abdominal pain (P=0·054) and/or diminished appetite (P=0·016).</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 3","pages":"241-50"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12987676649584","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29899123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}