Intestinal Parasites and HIV Co-infections in Mogadishu (Somalia): A Retrospective Evaluation of Four-Year Follow-up Data

To determine potential, long-term deficits associated with early childhood diarrhea and parasitic infections, we studied the physical fitness (by the Harvard Step Test) and cognitive function (by standardized tests noted below) of 26 children who had complete surveillance for diarrhea in their first 2 years of life and who had continued surveillance until 6-9 years of age in a poor urban community (favela) in Fortaleza in northeast Brazil. Early childhood diarrhea at 0-2 years of age correlated ...

SUMMARY Several enteric protozoa cause severe morbidity and mortality in both humans and animals worldwide. In developed settings, enteric protozoa are often ignored as a cause of diarrheal illness due to better hygiene conditions, and as such, very little effort is used toward laboratory diagnosis. Although these protozoa contribute to the high burden of infectious diseases, estimates of their true prevalence are sometimes affected by the lack of sensitive diagnostic techniques to detect them i...

A prospective study was performed on a large outpatient population to evaluate the epidemiology and pathogenicity of Blastocystis hominis. Patients with stool specimens positive for B. hominis and negative for other bacterial and parasitic pathogens were sent a questionnaire and were requested to submit a follow-up specimen for ova-and-parasite examination. B. hominis was identified in 530 of 16,545 specimens (3.2%). There was a spectrum of clinical-pathological presentations in the 143 patients...

The magnitude of intestinal parasitic infection in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients requires careful consideration in the developing world where poor nutrition is associated with poor hygiene and several tropical diseases. However, there have been very few studies addressing this issue in Cameroon. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitosis in HIV/AIDS patients in Dschang -Cameroon. Stool and blood specimens from HIV/AIDS patients and control group ...

SUMMARY Parasitic helminths have co‐evolved with the mammalian immune system. Current hypotheses suggest that immunological stimulation in the presence of helminths is balanced by immuno‐regulation and by the broad spectrum of mechanisms possessed by helminths for countering the host immune response. The degree to which this balance is perfected, and the mechanisms by which this is achieved, vary between helminth species; we suggest that this is reflected not only in the degree of pathology indu...

Preventive chemotherapy with albendazole or mebendazole is the current strategy to control soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections (i.e. Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm and Trichuris trichiura). STH reinfections, in particular A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura occur rapidly after treatment with the standard drugs. However, their low efficacy against T. trichiura, made an accurate assessment of reinfection patterns impossible. In 2013 a randomised controlled trial was conducted on Pemba Island, ...

In 1997, enhanced health assessments were performed for 390 (10%) of approximately 4,000 Barawan refugees resettling to the United States. Of the refugees who received enhanced assessments, 26 (7%) had malaria parasitemia and 128 (38%) had intestinal parasites, while only 2 (2%) had Schistosoma haematobium eggs in the urine. Mass therapy for malaria (a single oral dose of 25 mg/kg of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine) was given to all Barawan refugees 1-2 days before resettlement. Refugees >2 years of a...

Diarrhoea is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years of age in developing countries, including Ethiopia. It is caused by a wide range of pathogens, including parasites, bacteria and viruses. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of infection with intestinal parasites (IPs) (and types) among children under 5 years of age with diarrhoeal diseases. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Adare Hospital and Millennium Health Centre, both located in Haw...

World Health Organization (WHO) reported that tuberculosis (TB) was a major health problem and the second leading cause of mortality globally. An estimated 1.8 million TB deaths were reported in 2015. In Somalia, the average TB incidence was 274 cases per 100,000 people in 2014; prevalence was 513 per 100,000 population; and mortality rate excluding human immune deficiency virus (HIV)/TB co-infection was 64/100,000. In addition, the prevalence rates of multi-drug resistant (MDR)-TB are still hig...