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The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of Blastocystis sp. in gastrointestinal symptoms reported by adult patients in a Peruvian hospital. A case-control 3:1 study was performed at the outpatient clinic. Direct stool examinations were done. One hundred sixty patients were included, 40 cases and 120 controls. Positivity to Blastocystis sp. was associated with dyspepsia (P <0.001), bloating (P <0.001) and abdominal pain (P = 0.03) in patients attending our hospital outpatient clinic.
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of Blastocystis sp. in gastrointestinal symptoms reported by adult patients in a Peruvian hospital. A case-control 3:1 study was performed at the outpatient clinic. Direct stool examinations were done. One hundred sixty patients were included, 40 cases and 120 controls. Positivity to Blastocystis sp. was associated with dyspepsia (P <0.001), bloating (P <0.001) and abdominal pain (P = 0.03) in patients attending our hospital outpatient clinic.
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Objective To assess the knowledge on Zika virus infection among healthcare providers (doctors) in Aceh province, Indonesia. Methods A self-administered internet based survey was conducted from 3 May to 3 June 2016 among the members of doctor organizations in Aceh province. A set of validated, pre-tested questionnaire was used to measure knowledge regarding Zika infection and to collect a range of explanatory variables. A two-steps logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the association of participants' demographic, workplace characteristics and other explanatory variables with the knowledge. Results A total of 442 participants included in the final analysis and 35.9% of them (159) had a good knowledge on Zika infection. Multivariate model revealed that type of occupation, type of workplace, availability of access to medical journals and experience made Zika disease as differential diagnose were associated with knowledge on Zika infection. In addition, three significant source of information regarding Zika were online media (60%), medical article or medical news (16.2%) and television (13.2%). Conclusion The knowledge of the doctors in Aceh regarding Zika infection is relatively low. Doctors who have a good knowledge on Zika infection are more confident to established Zika disease as differential diagnosis in their clinical setting. Therefore, such program to increase healthcare providers' knowledge regarding Zika infection is needed to screen potential carriers of Zika infection.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To assess the knowledge on Zika virus infection among healthcare providers (doctors) in Aceh province, Indonesia.@*METHODS@#A self-administered internet based survey was conducted from 3 May to 3 June 2016 among the members of doctor organizations in Aceh province. A set of validated, pre-tested questionnaire was used to measure knowledge regarding Zika infection and to collect a range of explanatory variables. A two-steps logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the association of participants' demographic, workplace characteristics and other explanatory variables with the knowledge.@*RESULTS@#A total of 442 participants included in the final analysis and 35.9% of them (159) had a good knowledge on Zika infection. Multivariate model revealed that type of occupation, type of workplace, availability of access to medical journals and experience made Zika disease as differential diagnose were associated with knowledge on Zika infection. In addition, three significant source of information regarding Zika were online media (60%), medical article or medical news (16.2%) and television (13.2%).@*CONCLUSION@#The knowledge of the doctors in Aceh regarding Zika infection is relatively low. Doctors who have a good knowledge on Zika infection are more confident to established Zika disease as differential diagnosis in their clinical setting. Therefore, such program to increase healthcare providers' knowledge regarding Zika infection is needed to screen potential carriers of Zika infection.
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Peru is an increasingly popular tourist destination that poses a risk to travelers due to endemic vector-borne diseases [VBDs]. The objective of our study was to determine which factors are associated with receiving pre-travel advice [PTA] for VBDs among travelers visiting Cuzco, Peru. A cross-sectional secondary analysis based on data from a survey among travelers departing Cuzco at Alejandro Velazco Astete International Airport during the period January-March 2012 was conducted. From the 1819 travelers included in the original study, 1717 were included in secondary data analysis. Of these participants, 42.2% received PTA and 2.9% were informed about vector-borne diseases, including yellow fever [1.8%], malaria [1.6%] and dengue fever [0.1%]. Receiving information on VBDs was associated with visiting areas endemic to yellow fever and dengue fever in Peru. The only disease travelers received specific recommendations for before visiting an endemic area for was yellow fever. Only 1 in 30 tourists received information on VBD prevention; few of those who traveled to an endemic area were warned about specific risks for infectious diseases prior to their trip. These important findings show that most tourists who travel to Peru do not receive PTA for the prevention of infectious and VBD, which can affect not only the travelers but their countries of origin as well
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Malaria in children is still an important public health problem in endemic areas of South-East Asia and Latin America. Certain forms of the disease, such as Plasmodium vivax severe malaria, are still neglected. This descriptive study assessed the frequency of severe and benign P. vivax infection in Embera children [<14 years of age] from an endemic municipality in Colombia in 2013, using the WHO criteria. During 2013, 270 Embera children presented 349 episodes of malaria. From them, 22 [8.1%] presented at least one of the criteria for severe malaria. Some patients with P. vivax presented with severe malaria [severe anemia, renal dysfunction, respiratory distress and seizure]. Mixed malaria cases presented more complications than those with monoinfection [OR=5.535; 95%CI 1.81-16.9]. In Colombia, few data are available about severe P. vivax malaria in children, especially in the Amerindian ethnic groups. Mixed infections were associated with increased risk of severe malaria. At the same time, detailed and prospective studies are needed to measure the real impact of severe vivax malaria, as was evidenced in this paper
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Humans , Male , Female , Infant, Newborn , Infant , Child, Preschool , Child , Adolescent , Child , Adolescent , Cross-Sectional StudiesABSTRACT
Dengue continues to be the most important viral vector-borne disease in the world, particularly in Asia and Latin America, and is significantly affected by climate variability. The influence of climate in an endemic region of Colombia, from 2010 to 2011, was assessed. Epidemiological surveillance data [weekly cases] were collected, and incidence rates were calculated. Poisson regression models were used to assess the influence of the macroclimatic variable ONI [Oscillation Nino Index] and the microclimatic variable pluviometry [mm of rain for Risaralda] on the dengue incidence rate, adjusting by year and week. During the study period, 13,650 cases were reported. In 2010, the rates ranged from 8.6 cases/100,000 pop. up to a peak of 75.3 cases/100,000 pop. for a cumulative rate of 456.2 cases/100,000 pop. in that week. The climate variability in 2010 was higher [ONI 1.6, El Nino to -1.5, La Nina] than in 2011 [ONI -1.4, La Nina to -0.2, Neutral]. The mean pluviometry was 248.45 mm [min 135.9-max 432.84]. During El Nino, cases were significantly higher [mean 433.81] than during the climate neutral period [142.48] and during the La Nina [52.80] phases [ANOVA F = 66.59; p < 0.001]. Regression models showed that the ONI [coefficient 0.329; 95%CI 0.209-0.450] and pluviometry [coefficient 0.003; 95%CI 0.002-0.004] were highly significant independent variables associated with dengue incidence rate, after adjusting by year and week [p < 0.001, pseudo r[2] = 0.6913]. El Nino significantly affected the incidence of dengue in Risaralda. This association with climate change and variability should be considered in the elements influencing disease epidemiology. In addition, predictive models should be developed further with more available data from disease surveillance
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Humans , IncidenceABSTRACT
Climate change and variability are common phenomena affecting various infectious diseases. Many studies have been performed on vector-borne diseases; however, few studies have addressed such influences on intestinal parasitic diseases [e.g., giardiasis]. In this study, using nonlinear Poisson regression models, we assessed the potential associations between macroclimatic variation and giardiasis cases in children and school workers from three provinces of Cuba in the context of large sampling and parasitological assessment. Between 2010 and 2012, 293,019 subjects were assessed, resulting in 6357 positive for Giardia [216.95 cases/10,000 pop.; 95%CI 211.7-222.2]. The variation in time for those giardiasis rates ranged from 35.8 to 525.8 cases/10,000 pop. Nonlinear Poisson regression models between the ONI index and the giardiasis incidence indicated a significant association [p < 0.01]. With lower values of ONI, lower incidence of giardiasis was observed at Havana [pseudo r[2] = 0.0576; p < 0.001] and Guantanamo [pseudo[2] = 0.0376; p < 0.001]. Although these results are preliminary and the magnitude of association is not higher, the results were of statistical significance. This result indicates the need to assess in detail in further studies the impact of additional macroclimatic and microclimatic variables on the epidemiology of this still important intestinal parasitic disease, not only in Cuba but also in other countries of the Caribbean and Latin American region
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Geographical Information Systems [GIS] have been used extensively for the development of epidemiological maps of malaria but not in the Coffee Triangle region of Colombia, endemic for P. vivax, P. falciparum and P. malariae. Surveillance case data [2007-2011] were used to estimate annual incidence rates per Plasmodium spp. [cases/100,000 pop] to develop the first malaria maps in the 53 municipalities of this region [departments Caldas, Quindio, Risaralda]. The GIS software used was Kosmo Desktop 3.0RC1[R]. Thirty thematic maps were developed according to the municipalities, years, parasite etiology, and uncomplicated and complicated cases. A total of 6582 cases were reported [6478 uncomplicated and 104 complicated, 77.8% Risaralda], for a cumulated rate of 269.46 cases/100,000 pop. Among uncomplicated cases, 5722 corresponded to P. vivax [234.25 cases/100,000 pop], 475 to P. falciparum [19.45 cases/100,000 pop], 8 to P. malariae [0.33 cases/100,000 pop] and 273 mixed [P. falciparum/P. vivax] [11.18 cases/100,000 pop]. The highest rate reported was in the more undeveloped and rural municipality of Risaralda [Pueblo Rico, 57.7 cases/1000 pop, 2009]. The burden of disease was concentrated in one department [>75% of the region]. The use of GIS-based epidemiological maps helps to guide decision-making for the prevention and control of this public health problem that still represents a significant issue in the region and the country, particularly in children
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Humans , Male , Female , Opportunistic Infections , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome , HIVSubject(s)
Humans , Acute Disease , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Toxocariasis/diagnosis , Toxocariasis/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Congenital syphilis still represents a significant public health problem worldwide, and particularly in developing countries. Despite years of research on different clinical and immunological features, many physiopathological aspects still lacks of knowledge, one of them the role of immune response against Treponema pallidum by infected mothers on the birth outcomes, e.g. birthweight. In this study we analyzed if the mother VDRL titers were significantly associated with the birthweight of newborns with congenital syphilis. We observed a highly significant association between both variables, finding at the linear regression that with higher mother VDRL titers, the newborn birthweight was lower (p=0.0345). We identified that higher VDRL titers are associated with lower birth weights, although the physiopathological reasons to explain this still remains unclear.
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Mothers , Birth Weight , SyphilisABSTRACT
American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) comprises a broad range of cutaneous manifestations caused by different Leishmania species which may produce severe and chronic sequelae in adults. However, it has been suggested that ACL may show different clinical and epidemiological features in children and adolescents that need to be further elucidated. We evaluated the epidemiological features of ACL in a cohort of pediatric patients from Northcentral Venezuela between years 1997 and 2005. Mean age of patients was 9 years old, with a mean clinical evolution of 3 months. Lesions were located mostly in extremities. Forty patients (93%) were positive by MST, 97.7% by IFAT and 48.8% by smear. MST values tended to be related to patients' age, higher values being recorded in older patients (p=0.153).