Blastocystis hominis among infants and preschool children in an urban and a rural area in Alexandria

Blastocystis hominis is now gaining acceptance as an agent of human intestinal disease. This case-control study of the prevalence of B. hominis infection in children less than 6 years old was conducted in an urban area and a rural area in Alexandria. A total of 600 stool samples were examined by wet mount preparation, Merthiolate iodine Formaldehyde concentration technique and permanent staining by using modified Ziehl Neelsen and trichrome stains. The difference between the prevalence of B. hominis in infants and preschool children from an urban area [20.33%] was not significantly different from that in a rural area [24%]. The most common clinical manifestations of B. hominis infection were diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever and vomiting. B. hominis was found in 85 [28.33%] of 300 stool specimens of cases with diarrhea and in 48 [16%] of 300 control specimens. Seventy cases [82.35%] of diarrhea had heavy infection [>5 organisms/20 HPF]. The presence of diarrhea with B. hominis infection was more common in boys aged from one to six years, in severely malnourished cases and in areas with no sewage system and in absence of in-house piped water supply. Contaminated water was suspected to be the major source of infection, since several cases were associated with Giardia infection. These findings support the concept of B. hominis pathogenicity in children with diarrhea

pathogenesis of giardia lamblia among Saudi children

The pathogenicity of giardiasis was studied among children of rural areas in the surrounding of Jeddah. Stools showing Giardia lamblia were examined macroscopically and microscopically to detect evidences of functional intestinal disturbances. The load of Giardia lamblia infection was assessed among them. The results showed that in this group of children giardiasis was not commonly associated with evident functional intestinal disturbances

Prevalence of parasitic infections in a rural community in Saudi Arabia

The prevalence of parasitic infections among 680 subjects living in a rural and suburban community near Makkah was studied [About half the population in such communities harbour one or more parasitic infections]. Among the most important environmental factors shown to affect the prevalence of intestinal parasites in this study are the level of environmental sanitation, the area of residence [whether urban or rural], family size, and sex. On the other hand, age appeared to play a minor or no role