Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology最新文献

{"title":"The role of fruit bats in the transmission of pathogenic leptospires in Australia.","authors":"S M Tulsiani, R N Cobbold, G C Graham, M F Dohnt, M-A Burns, L K-P Leung, H E Field, L D Smythe, S B Craig","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12899838413501","DOIUrl":"10.1179/136485911X12899838413501","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although antileptospiral antibodies and leptospiral DNA have been detected in Australian fruit bats, the role of such bats as infectious hosts for the leptospires found in rodents and humans remains unconfirmed. A cohort-design, replicated survey was recently conducted in Far North Queensland, Australia, to determine if the abundance and leptospiral status of rodents were affected by association with colonies of fruit bats (Pteropus conspicillatus spp.) via rodent contact with potentially infectious fruit-bat urine. In each of four study areas, a 'colony site' that included a fruit-bat colony and the land within 1500 m of the colony was compared with a 'control site' that held no fruit-bat colonies and was >2000 m from the nearest edge of the colony site. Rodents were surveyed, for a total of 2400 trap-nights, over six sampling sessions between September 2007 and September 2008. A low abundance of rodents but a high carriage of leptospires in the rodents present were found to be associated with proximity to a fruit-bat colony. For example, means of 0·4 and 2·3 fawn-footed melomys (Melomys cervinipes) were collected/100 trap-nights at sites with and without fruit-bat colonies, respectively (P<0·001), but the corresponding prevalences of leptospiral carriage were 100% and 3·6% (P<0·001). Such trends were consistent across all of the sampling sessions but not across all of the sampling sites. Leptospires were not isolated from fruit bats by culture, and the role of such bats in the transmission of leptospires to rodents cannot be confirmed. The data collected do, however, indicate the existence of a potential pathway for transmission of leptospires from fruit bats to rodents, via rodent contact with infectious fruit-bat urine. Fruit bats may possibly be involved in the ecology of leptospires (including emergent serovars), as disseminators of pathogens to rodent populations. Stringent quantitative risk analysis of the present and similar data, to explore their implications in terms of disease prevalence and wildlife population dynamics, is recommended.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 1","pages":"71-84"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4089791/pdf/atm-105-01-071.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29648684","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":"Gastro-intestinal Chagas disease in migrants to Spain: prevalence and methods for early diagnosis.","authors":"A Pérez-Ayala,&nbsp;J A Pérez-Molina,&nbsp;F Norman,&nbsp;B Monge-Maillo,&nbsp;M V Faro,&nbsp;R López-Vélez","doi":"10.1179/136485910X12851868780423","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485910X12851868780423","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Each year in Spain, the number of Latin American immigrants who present with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection increases. Although gastro-intestinal abnormalities are not as common as cardiomyopathy in such infection, they can still lead to an impaired quality of life. In a recent study based in Madrid, the frequencies of gastro-intestinal involvement in a cohort of Latin American immigrants infected with T. cruzi, and the role of early diagnostic techniques in the detection of such involvement, were explored. Between January 2003 and April 2009, all Latin Americans who attended the Tropical Medicine Unit of the Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal were tested for T. cruzi infection, in IFAT and ELISA. Each subject found both IFAT- and ELISA-positive was considered to be infected (chronically) and checked for symptoms indicative of Chagas disease. Each infected subject giving informed consent was investigated further, using an electrocardiogram, an echocardiogram and oesophageal manometry. Between January 2003 and June 2008, every infected subject who consented was also explored using a barium swallow and barium enema. After July 2008, however, only subjects showing oesophageal and/or colonic symptoms were investigated in this manner. Of the 248 patients found infected with T. cruzi, 118 underwent oesophageal manometry, 75 a barium enema and 48 a barium swallow. Thirteen (11%) showed evidence of oesophageal involvement (incomplete relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter; three cases) or bowel involvement (five cases of dolichosigma, three of dolichocolon and two of megacolon). Only six of these 13 had any gastro-intestinal symptoms (all six were suffering from constipation). None of the barium swallows revealed any pathology. It appears that oesophageal manometry can reveal mild abnormalities not detected by barium swallow, even in asymptomatic patients, while barium enemas are useful in the detection of colonic involvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 1","pages":"25-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485910X12851868780423","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29649828","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":"Contribution of Anopheles funestus, An. gambiae and An. nili (Diptera: Culicidae) to the perennial malaria transmission in the southern and western forest areas of Côte d'Ivoire.","authors":"A M Adja, E K N'goran, B G Koudou, I Dia, P Kengne, D Fontenille, F Chandre","doi":"10.1179/136485910X12851868780388","DOIUrl":"10.1179/136485910X12851868780388","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The involvement of members of the Anopheles gambiae complex Giles and An. funestus Giles and An. nili Theobald groups in the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum was recently investigated in the villages of Gbatta and Kpéhiri, which lie, respectively, in forest areas in the west and south of Côte d'Ivoire. Adult female mosquitoes were collected, using human landing catches, inside and outside dwellings. After identification and dissection, the heads and thoraces of all the anopheline mosquitoes were tested, in an ELISA, for circumsporozoite protein (CSP). All the female anopheline mosquitoes collected and identified to species using PCR were found to be An. gambiae s.s., An. nili s.s. or An. funestus s.s., with An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus s.s. predominant in Gbatta but An. nili s.s. the most common species in Kpéhiri. In Gbatta, 3·1% of the female An. gambiae collected, 5·0% of the female An. funestus and 1·8% of the female An. nili were found CSP-positive. The corresponding values in Kpéhiri were even higher, at 5·9%, 6·2% and 2·4%, respectively. The estimated entomological inoculation rates (EIR) were very high: 302 infected bites (139 from An. gambiae, 146 from An. funestus and 17 from An. nili)/person-year in Gbatta and 484 infected bites (204 from An. gambiae, 70 from An. funestus and 210 from An. nili)/person-year in Kpéhiri. In Gbatta, An. gambiae s.s. was responsible for most of the rainy-season transmission while An. funestus became the main malaria vector in the dry seasons. In Kpéhiri, however, An. nili appeared to be the main vector throughout the year, with An. gambiae of secondary importance and An. funestus only becoming a significant vector during the rainy season. Although, in both study sites, intense transmission was therefore occurring and the same three species of anopheline mosquito were present, the relative importance of each mosquito species in the epidemiology of the human malaria at each site differed markedly.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 1","pages":"13-24"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4089788/pdf/atm-105-01-013.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29649827","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":"Emerging tropical diseases in Australia. Part 5. Hendra virus.","authors":"S M Tulsiani,&nbsp;G C Graham,&nbsp;P R Moore,&nbsp;C C Jansen,&nbsp;A F Van Den Hurk,&nbsp;F A J Moore,&nbsp;R J Simmons,&nbsp;S B Craig","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12899838413547","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12899838413547","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hendra virus (HeV) was first isolated in 1994, from a disease outbreak involving at least 21 horses and two humans in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra, Australia. The affected horses and humans all developed a severe but unidentified respiratory disease that resulted in the deaths of one of the human cases and the deaths or putting down of 14 of the horses. The virus, isolated by culture from a horse and the kidney of the fatal human case, was initially characterised as a new member of the genus Morbillivirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. Comparative sequence analysis of part of the matrix protein gene of the virus and the discovery that the virus had an exceptionally large genome subsequently led to HeV being assigned to a new genus, Henipavirus, along with Nipah virus (a newly emergent virus in pigs). The regular outbreaks of HeV-related disease that have occurred in Australia since 1994 have all been characterised by acute respiratory and neurological manifestations, with high levels of morbidity and mortality in the affected horses and humans. The modes of transmission of HeV remain largely unknown. Although fruit bats have been identified as natural hosts of the virus, direct bat-horse, bat-human or human-human transmission has not been reported. Human infection can occur via exposure to infectious urine, saliva or nasopharyngeal fluid from horses. The treatment options and efficacy are very limited and no vaccine exists. Reports on the outbreaks of HeV in Australia are collated in this review and the available data on the biology, transmission and detection of the pathogen are summarized and discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 1","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12899838413547","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29649826","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":"Risk factors for Giardia infection among hospitalized children in Cuba.","authors":"J Bello,&nbsp;F A Núñez,&nbsp;O M González,&nbsp;R Fernández,&nbsp;P Almirall,&nbsp;A A Escobedo","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12899838413385","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12899838413385","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The risk factors associated with Giardia infection, in children hospitalized in Havana, Cuba, were recently explored. Children aged ≥5 years were more likely to be positive for Giardia infection than the younger children, with an odds ratio (OR) of 3·41 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1·36-9·69]. The risk factors found to be associated with Giardia infection in univariate analyses were rural residence (OR = 3·01; CI = 1·23-7·35), belonging to a household that did not receive water from an aqueduct (OR = 3·27; CI = 1·21-8·91), drinking unboiled water (OR = 3·64; CI = 2·14-6·26), nail biting (OR = 3·47; CI = 1·97-6·08), eating unwashed vegetables raw (OR = 4·84; CI = 2·33-10·14), and a personal (OR = 3·23; CI = 1·58-6·59) or family history (OR = 3·96; CI = 1·53-10·47) of previous parasitic infection. In multivariate analyses, however, only two (modifiable) risk factors were found to be independently and significantly associated with Giardia infection: nail biting and eating unwashed vegetables raw. It therefore seems that, at least at the individual level, giardiasis-prevention activities in Havana should be focussed on health education to improve personal hygiene and food-related practices. If appropriately managed, the surveillance of drinking water and foodstuffs, for Giardia and other parasites, might also help to reduce the hospitalization of Cuban children.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 1","pages":"57-64"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12899838413385","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29648682","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":"Pulmonary embolism in echinococcosis: two case reports and literature review.","authors":"R Salem,&nbsp;A Zrig,&nbsp;S Joober,&nbsp;T Trimech,&nbsp;W Harzallah,&nbsp;M A Jellali,&nbsp;W Mnari,&nbsp;J Saad,&nbsp;B Hmida,&nbsp;A Elkamel,&nbsp;M Golli","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12899838413466","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485911X12899838413466","url":null,"abstract":"Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a worldwide parasitic infection in which the larval cysts of Echinococcus granulosus develop in some tissue or organ, very often in the liver and/or the lungs. On very rare occasions, a cyst may be found inside the pulmonary artery, the result of the rupture of an intracardiac cyst or, more rarely, dissemination from a hepatic infection (Bulman et al., 2007). Most cysts in the pulmonary artery have only been detected at autopsy (Gilsanz et al., 1977). Surgery is usually the therapeutic approach of choice. \u0000 \u0000Two Tunisian patients with Echinococcus-attributable pulmonary embolism, as a rare complication after the surgical removal of a hepatic cyst (Case 1) or a cardiac cyst (Case 2) are described below. In both cases, who presented at the Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital in Monastir, diagnosis was based on medical history and imaging features and chemotherapy led to a good outcome.","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 1","pages":"85-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485911X12899838413466","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29648685","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":"Pressure sores and myiasis: flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) complicating a decubitus ulcer.","authors":"J Iqbal,&nbsp;P R Hira,&nbsp;M M Marzouk,&nbsp;F Al-Ali,&nbsp;F Shelahi,&nbsp;N Khalid,&nbsp;N Wyatt,&nbsp;M J R Hall","doi":"10.1179/136485910X12851868780469","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485910X12851868780469","url":null,"abstract":"Myiasis is the infestation by dipterous larvae of the tissues of humans, other mammals and some other vertebrates, most commonly affecting cutaneous tissues close to natural orifices or wounds. Suc...","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 1","pages":"91-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485910X12851868780469","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29648686","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":"Treatment of angiostrongyliasis using a combination of albendazole and dexamethasone: the results of a retrospective and comparative study.","authors":"Z Diao,&nbsp;J Wang,&nbsp;H Qi,&nbsp;X Li,&nbsp;X Zheng,&nbsp;C Yin","doi":"10.1179/136485910X12851868780342","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485910X12851868780342","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As the information available on the treatment of angiostrongyliasis with a combination of albendazole and dexamethasone is limited, the efficacy of such therapy was assessed using data collected during the 2006 outbreak of angiostrongyliasis in Beijing. In a retrospective and controlled study, 35 patients treated with albendazole-dexamethasone (given 20 mg albendazole/kg and 3 mg dexamethasone daily for 7 days) were compared with 34 controls who were treated only symptomatically (with acetaminophen or other drugs). Compared with the controls, the patients given the combination were less likely to have headaches after 7 days (P = 0·038), tended to have headaches that cleared quicker (P = 0·010), and received fewer doses of acetaminophen (P = 0·036). Since no serious adverse effects were observed, a 1-week treatment with a combination of albendazole and dexamethasone appears both safe and beneficial in the treatment of angiostrongyliasis.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 1","pages":"65-9"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485910X12851868780342","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29648683","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 Indian and Nepalese programmes of indoor residual spraying for the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis: performance and effectiveness.","authors":"R Chowdhury, M M Huda, V Kumar, P Das, A B Joshi, M R Banjara, S Akhter, A Kroeger, B Krishnakumari, M Petzold, D Mondal, M L Das","doi":"10.1179/136485911X12899838683124","DOIUrl":"10.1179/136485911X12899838683124","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although, when applied under controlled conditions in India and Nepal, indoor residual spraying (IRS) has been found to reduce sandfly densities significantly, it is not known if IRS will be as effective when applied generally in these countries, via the national programmes for the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis. The potential benefits and limitations of national IRS programmes for the control of sandflies were therefore evaluated in the districts of Vaishali (in the Indian state of Bihar), Sarlahi (in Nepal) and Sunsari (also in Nepal). The use of technical guidelines, levels of knowledge and skills related to spraying operations, insecticide bio-availability on the sprayed surfaces, concentrations of the insecticide on the walls of sprayed houses, insecticide resistance, and the effectiveness of spraying, in terms of reducing sandfly densities within sprayed houses (compared with those found in unsprayed sentinel houses or control villages) were all explored. It was observed that IRS programme managers, at district and subdistrict levels in India and Nepal, used the relevant technical guidelines and were familiar with the procedures for IRS operation. The performance of the spraying activities, however, showed important deficiencies. The results of bio-assays and the chemical analysis of samples from sprayed walls indicated substandard spraying and suboptimal concentrations of insecticide on sprayed surfaces. This was particularly obvious at one of the Nepali study sites (Sunsari district), where no significant vector reduction was achieved. Sandfly resistance to the insecticide used in India (DDT) was widespread but the potential vectors in Nepal remained very susceptible towards a pyrethroid similar to the one used there. The overall short-term effectiveness of IRS was found to be satisfactory in two of the three study sites (in terms of reduction in the densities of the sandfly vectors). Unfortunately, the medium-term evaluation, conducted 5 months after spraying, was probably made invalid by flooding or lime plastering in the study areas. Preparation for, and the monitoring of, the IRS operations against sandfly populations in India and Nepal need to be improved.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"105 1","pages":"31-5"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4089790/pdf/atm-105-01-031.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29649829","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":"Behavioural responses of the snail Lymnaea acuminata to carbohydrates and amino acids in bait pellets.","authors":"P Agrahari,&nbsp;D K Singh","doi":"10.1179/136485910X12851868780144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1179/136485910X12851868780144","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Snail control could play an important role in programmes against fascioliasis, especially if the methods used for molluscicide delivery could be improved, such as by the development of bait formulations containing both an effective attractant and a molluscicide, to ensure good levels of contact between the molluscicide and the target snail populations. In a recent study, the attractiveness to Lymnaea acuminata (an intermediate host of the digenean trematode Fasciola gigantica) of potential components of snail-attractant pellets was investigated. Carbohydrates (glucose, maltose, sucrose or starch, each at 10 mM) and amino acids (citrulline, tryptophan, proline or serine, each at 20 mM), were tested in aquaria, with the snails initially placed 22.5, 30 or 45 cm from an agar pellet containing the component under test. Under these conditions, starch and proline emerged as the strongest attractants for L. acuminata, followed by maltose and serine.</p>","PeriodicalId":8019,"journal":{"name":"Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology","volume":"104 8","pages":"667-71"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1179/136485910X12851868780144","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29524476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}