Annals of parasitology最新文献

Treatment of liver hydatid cysts is still in most cases surgical. To avoid the recurrence of hydatid cysts injection of scolicidal products inside the cystic cavity is an important step in the surgical procedure. Many scolicidal solutions are used. Hypertonic Saline Solution (HSS) is widely used by surgeons; however, there is a risk of hypertonic saline resorption and acute hypernatremia. Iatrogenic hypernatremia can be life-threatening. We report three cases of hypernatremia secondary to HSS injection for hydatid cyst disease treatment. The objective of this study was to discuss the clinical features, and treatment of this rare complication.

We aimed to present an alternate method instead of PCR-RFLP and also develop an optimized method for rapid, time-saving and affordable molecular-based approach to discriminate species of liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica. Seventy-six samples of F. hepatica and 28 F. gigantica were collected from the slaughterhouses of endemic regions in Iran. Following a comprehensive analysis of the mitochondrial complete sequences of both F. hepatica and F. gigantica, the extracted DNAs from all samples were used as templates in multiplex PCR reactions containing two sets of primers specific for cytochrome c oxidase I (cox I) gene of both species. In a parallel experiment, PCR-RFLP was performed for each sample using internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) sequence. Furthermore, following a PCR amplification for cox I gene, the amplicons were purified for sequencing. To assess the validity of the multiplex PCR approach, the obtained data from the multiplex PCR and PCR-RFLP experiments were compared with each other. By sequence analysis of 104 samples, 76 and 28 samples were identified as F. hepatica and F. gigantica, respectively. Results revealed 100% and 92% of accuracy as for multiplex PCR and PCR-RFLP. The designed multiplex PCR strategy offers a valid alternative approach to the conventional methods with distinctive features including convenience, cost-effectiveness, time-saving (3 hours from sampling to obtain final results) and high efficacy.

Leporinus piau is a freshwater fish belonging to the family Anostomidae, popularly known as "piau" in Brazil. This species has wide distribution in Brazilian northeast basins and presents an economic and sporting fishing importance. The present study aims to inventory the parasitofauna of L. piau of a freshwater ecosystem of Caatinga domain (Brazil). A total of 598 parasite specimens were recovered from nine parasitized hosts, belonging to four taxonomic groups: one Myxozoa (Henneguya sp.); four Monogenea (Dactylogyridae gen. sp., Jainus sp., Urocleidoides sp. 1 and Urocleidoides sp. 2); one Nematoda (Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus) and two Copepoda (Ergasilus sp. and Gamispatulus schizodontis). Previous studies reported five parasitic associations in L. piau: two nematodes (P. (S.) inopinatus and Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) saofrancicencis) and three crustaceans (Argulus sp., Brasergasilus sp. and Ergasilus sp.). For the first time, this study records myxozoan and monogeneans parasitizing the host L. piau. The present study stands out the importance of the knowledge of the parasite biodiversity of freshwater fish in neotropics, reporting new occurrences and parasitic association for ichthyofauna of the Caatinga domain.

In recent years, there has been more and more new research on the therapeutic effects of plants and their positive impact on the fight against parasitic diseases. It is of great importance, as it gives the opportunity to use this knowledge for phytotherapy, which is cheaper than pharmacological treatment, and as numerous studies have shown, it can be equally effective. Scientists are still looking for newer and newer chemicals that can be isolated from plants around us, and the current medicine is more and more willing to use natural medicines. In the following work, we present an overview of the most common parasitic diseases caused by protozoa, flatworms, roundworms, as well as by arachnids and fleas. We also presented alternative methods of treating these diseases using phytotherapy, which uses extracts of, among others, mint, tea tree, garlic, ginger, pumpkin seeds, annual mugwort, musk cosmos, walnuts, cocoa, grapes or black cumin.

Acanthocephalans are grouped in a single phylum, having a cosmopolitan distribution and subdivided into several genera. Although species of this parasite genus have birds and mammals as definitive hosts, they have been reported in amphibians and reptiles, and have been noted as paratenic hosts. In this study we report the record of Rhinella major as a new paratenic host for the Centrorhynchus sp. from an urban area of the Brazilian Amazon. In this study, for the morphometric measurements to take place, the parasitic specimens found were fixed and preserved in an alcoholic liquid medium and the identification of the parasites found were confirmed by specialized literature. The parasitological statistical parameters followed the proposed ecological concepts, calculating the parasite prevalence, intensity, average intensity and average abundance indices with confidence intervals. In the present study, two morphotypes of Acontochephala were found parasitizing R. major. In this study we report the record of R. major as a new paratenic host for the Centrorhynchus sp.

In the experiment, 160 medicinal leeches of the species Hirudo verbana Carena, 1820 were studied. Medicinal leeches were fed on the blood of animals and people (conditionally healthy and diseased). Four leeches were taken from each animal/person. The animals were studied for 3 weeks. Mortality was mostly observed in the first days after feeding on the blood of the host. We noted mortality, the appearance of constrictions on the leeches' body, the intensity of the host blood spitting from their body. The host's blood was taken from their stomach on the first day after feeding. Hematological and immunological indicators of blood were determined in the taken blood of the host. As a result of the study of the blood of the sick, significant changes were found, compared to conditionally healthy ones. It was manifested by an increase in erythrocytes and leukocytes. The leukocyte formula looked like in most pathological conditions of the inflammatory process. The obtained indicators of the experiment make it possible to quickly assess the presence of physiological disorders in the early stages of the disease.

Many studies have suggested that Blastocystis parasites are pathogenic protozoan parasites and one study proposed that these parasites have contributed to anaemia in children. The primary objective of the present study was to made a comparison between healthy control subjects (group 1), Blastocystis-positive subjects (group 2), subjects with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who were Blastocystis-negative (group 3), and IBS patients who were Blastocystispositive (group 4) regarding the haematological indices. From each participant, blood has been collected and the complete blood count (CBC) has been measured. The current study also was designed to evaluate the correlation between blastocystosis and six selected hemogram parameters [monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), neutrophil-tolymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), red cell distribution width (RDW), platelet distribution width (PDW), and mean platelet volume (MPV)]. The results revealed that the total numbers of lymphocytes and platelets decreased significantly (P<0.0001), while the numbers of monocytes (P<0.0001) and neutrophils (P<0.0001) increased significantly in the bloods of IBS patients and non-IBS subjects who were infected with Blastocystis parasites in comparison with the healthy subjects in the control group. In addition, our results revealed for the first time that the levels of NLR, MLR, PLR, RDW, PDW and MPV were significantly higher (P=0.05-0.0001) in the bloods of IBS patients and non-IBS subjects who were infected with Blastocystis parasites than in their Blastocystis-negative counterparts. In conclusion, we believe that the levels of these hemogram parameters can be used as novel markers of blastocystosis. In addition, this study revealed that the infection with Blastocystis parasites had a significant impact on the haematological indices in both IBS patients and non-IBS individuals.

The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the body condition, and the number of parasites in the gastrointestinal tract of the tufted duck (Aythya fuligula), using the Akaike information criterion. Absolute and relative measurements of 197 ducks were taken. Liver mass was positively associated with the number of parasites in the duodenum (β = 0.5). Heart mass affected positively the number of parasites in the rectum (β = 2.3), the number of nematodes in the jejunum (β = 7.45), the total number of trematodes (β = 1.7), their number in the ceca (β = 7.3) and rectum (β = 4.2), and the number of cestodes in the ceca (β = 8.2). Beak length influenced the number of nematodes in the rectum (β = 1.7). Left tarsometatarsus length (β = 1.4) and relative head height (β = -2.0) affected the number of trematodes in the ceca. Tail length influenced negatively the number of cestodes in the ileum (β = -0.2). Similarly, a ratio of body mass to body length was negatively associated with the total number of parasites (β = -0.1), their number in the ceca (β = -0.2) and rectum (β = -0.3), the total number of trematodes (β = -0.3), and their number in the ceca (β = -0.5) and rectum (β = -0.4). A ratio of keel-skin length to keel length affected differently the total number of parasites in the ceca (β = 9.1), the number of nematodes in the jejunum (β = -17.9) and the number of trematodes in the duodenum (β = -5.8). A ratio of fat mass to body length affected the number of cestodes in the jejunum (β = 1.8). The present study indicates some morphological and anatomical parameters that may be useful for determining the correlation between the body condition and the level of parasitic infection.

Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic protozoan parasite that causes trichomonosis in human. It is one of the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infections. It has been found to be most prevalent in patients referred to sexually transmitted disease clinics. In recent years, molecular methods have been used to identify genotypes of this parasite in different parts of the world and so far 6 types of T. vaginalis have identified. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and genotype identification of T. vaginalis from married women in northern Iran. A total of 450 vaginal specimens were taken from married women, referring to health centers in northern Iran. Demographic information of women was collected through a questionnaire. The samples were first examined microscopically and then monitored in Dorsch culture medium for up to 10 days. Actin genes of positive samples were amplified by PCR. Finally, PCR products were used to determine the sequence and genotype of the parasite. Overall, 0.7% (3/450) samples were positive for T. vaginalis. All of the three infected women were housewives. After sequencing, the genotype of these parasites were type H (66.7%) (Accession no; MW414672-MW414673) and type E (33.3%) (Accession no: MW414671). Low prevalence of T. vaginalis in north of Iran indicate high level of hygiene in sexual intercourse and avoiding from high risk sexual behaviors, and also it seems that genotype H is dominant type of the parasite in the study area.