Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in HIV and non-HIV infected Thai pregnant women.

Serological evidence for Toxoplasma gondii infection in Thai pregnant women was investigated. One thousand six hundred and sixty-nine blood specimens were collected from 838 HIV-seropositive and 831 HIV-seronegative pregnant women attending the antenatal-care clinic at Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, during a two-year period. Toxoplasma IgG antibody was detected, using a solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in which the membrane protein p-30 was the predominant antigen. IgG positive sera were subsequently examined for IgM antibody by the capture antibody enzyme immunoassay. The IgG antibody was found in 450 (53.7%) HIV seropositive women and 44 (5.3%) non-HIV infected women, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.0001). Three of the 450 HIV-seropositive and 2 of the 44 HIV-seronegative sera with IgG antibody were positive for IgM antibody against T. gondii. This result suggested that HIV seropositive pregnant women had a higher risk of Toxoplasma infection with increase exposure to their offspring.

Prevalence of parasitic infections in Thai workers from 1993 to 1997.

Study on the prevalence of parasitic infections in Thai laborers who applied for working abroad was carried out during 5 years. The total number of 78,240 stool specimens was obtained and examined by simple smear and iodine. It was found that the prevalence of parasitic infections from 1993 to 1997 was 12.15%, 13.13%, 12.57%, 4.62% and 5.76% respectively. The five most frequently parasites found in stool were Blastocystis hominis, hookworms, Giardia lamblia, Strongyloides stercoralis and Opisthorchis viverrini. Such findings were similar to previous reports, but in lower percentages. Thus, continuity of public health education and sanitation improvement should be concerned for prevention and control of parasitic infections.

The rapid detection of microsporidia in stool using a new trichrome-methylene blue stain: A preliminary report.

The increasing number of HIV-infected patients with intestinal microsporidiosis promt the physician to look for appropriate diagnostic techniques to identify microsporidia. The Weber’s modified trichrome stain has been established as a standard method for detection of microsporidia spores in fecal apecimens. This staninng is practical for routinely diagnosis. However, the original method requires approximately two hours to be completed. The new rapid trichrome-methylene blue technique was therefore developed to reduce the processing time from 120 to 15 minutes. Twenty-two formalinized stool samples known to be positive for microsporidia by transmission electron microscopy and 22 negative control specimens were stained by both original and new modified methods. With these two techniques, the parasitic morphology showed the same characteristic staining pattern, but the trichrome-methylene blue method provided a greater background contrast. The sensitivity and specificity of this modified technique were similar to the Weber’s method and the specificity was equal. This new less time-consuming procedure will be helpful in clinical management.