Carriers Of Intestinal Parasites Research Articles

Filth Flies As Carriers of Intestinal Parasites And Fungi in a Tertiary Institution in Ghana

Filth Flies As Carriers of Intestinal Parasites And Fungi in a Tertiary Institution in Ghana

Isolation and Identification of Intestinal parasites and protozoa from Flesh flies Sarcophaga africa in Baghdad

A study was conducted to determine the role of flesh flies Sarcophaga africa as carriers of intestinal parasites in different locations of Baghdad as a primary efforts in Iraq from March to October 2011.A total of 140 Sarcophaga africa were examined both the external and internal to identify the parasites. The parasites were transmitted exterinally: (Paramphistomum sp.10.7%, Ascaris vitulorium 7.8%, Strongyloides westri 5%, Taenia sp. 10.6%). The parasites were transmitted internally: (Trichuris sp.2.8%, Toxocara sp.20% and Ascaris lubrecoides12.8%, Cryptsporidium parvum17.8%,Cryptsporidium muris 8.5%, Cyclospora cayetanensis 6.8%, Thieleria sp. 5% and Trypanosoma sp. 2.1%). It was observed that more parasites were isolated from gut contents than the external surfaces of the flies examined (P  0.01). The public health significance of these findings is highlighted.

PREVALENCE OF INTESTINAL PARASITISM AND ASSOCIATED SYMPTOMATOLOGY AMONG HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS

Intestinal parasites are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Immunocompromised individuals may develop more severe forms of these infections. Taking into account the immunity impairment in patients suffering from chronic renal failure (CRF), we will determine the prevalence and associated symptoms of intestinal parasites in these patients. Controls without CRF were used for comparison. Stool samples were collected and processed for microscopic identification of parasites using the Formalin-ether concentration method. For Cryptosporidium diagnosis, the ELISA technique was used. One hundred and ten fecal samples from hemodialysis patients were analyzed, as well as 86 from a community group used as control group. A result of 51.6% of intestinal parasites was observed in hemodialysis patients and 61.6% in the control group. Cryptosporidium and Blastocystis were the most common infections in patients with CRF (26.4% and 24.5%, respectively). Blastocystis was the most common infection in the control group (41.9%), however no individual was found positive for Cryptosporidium. Among the CRF patients, 73.6% were symptomatic, 54.3% of these tested positive for at least one parasite, in contrast to 44.8% in asymptomatic patients (p = 0.38). The most common symptoms in this group were flatulence (36.4%), asthenia (30.0%) and weight loss (30.0%). In the control group, 91.9% were symptomatic, 60.8% of these tested positive for at least one parasite, in contrast to 71.4% in asymptomatic patients (p = 0.703). A significant difference between the two groups was observed with regard to symptoms, with bloating, postprandial fullness, and abdominal pain being more frequent in the control group than in the hemodialysis group (all p < 0.05). Comparing symptomatic with asymptomatic, there was no association in either group between symptoms or the prevalence of parasitic infection, nor with the type of parasite or with multiple parasitic infections. Patients with chronic renal failure are frequent targets for renal transplantation, which as well as the inherent immunological impairment of the disease itself, results in immunosuppression by medication. For this reason, carriers of intestinal parasites with pathogenic potential can develop serious clinical complications influencing the success of transplantation. This fact, coupled with the high prevalence of intestinal parasites and the dissociation between symptoms and infection in CRF patients, suggests that the stool test should be incorporated in routine propedeutics. Furthermore, preventive measures for the acquisition of parasites through the fecal-oral contamination route should be introduced.

Non-biting cyclorrhaphan flies (Diptera) as carriers of intestinal human parasites in slum areas of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

A study was conducted to determine the role of non-biting cyclorrhaphan flies as carriers of intestinal parasites in slum areas of Addis Ababa from January 2004 to June 2004. A total of 9550 flies, comprising of at least seven species were collected from four selected sites and examined for human intestinal parasites using the formol–ether concentration method. The dominant fly species was Chrysomya rufifacies (34.9%) followed by Musca domestica (31%), Musca sorbens (20.5.%), Lucina cuprina (6.8%), Sarcophaga sp. (2.8%), Calliphora vicina (2.2%) and Wohlfahrtia sp. (1.8%). Six intestinal helminths ( Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, hookworms, Hymenolepis nana, Taenia spp. and Strongyloides stercoralis) and at least four protozoan parasites ( Entamoeba histolytica/ dispar, Entamoeba coli, Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium sp.) were isolated from both the external and gut contents of the flies. A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura among the helminths and E. histolytica/ dispar and E. coli among the protozoans were the dominant parasites detected both on the external and in the gut contents of the flies, but occurring more in the latter. Among the flies, C. rufifacies and M. sorbens were the highest carriers of the helminth and protozoan parasites, respectively. The public health significance of these findings is highlighted.

IgE in stools as indicator of food sensitization

The fragment of the Fc segment of IgE resistant to proteolytic enzymes was determined by a radioimmunologic method in fecal extracts from several groups of patients. IgEs remained undetectable in the 95 healthy subjects studied. IgEs were detected in 16/27 carriers of intestinal parasites (60%), with a mean of 92.4 IU/g dry weight. IgEs were also detected in 236/312 food-sensitization patients, with the sensitizing foodstuffs being identified by searching for the specific IgEs in circulation (75%), with a mean of 63.9 IU/g dry weight. The simultaneous determination of alpha-1-antitrypsin in fecal extracts and in sera from 21 control subjects and 21 food-sensitization carriers demonstrated that extravasation of plasma proteins into the gut lumen cannot be responsible for the presence of IgE in stools. Testing for IgE in stools therefore appears to be a simple and economical means of identifying patients without parasites who present with food sensitization.