Altababa medical volunteer group mission to Almanagil hospital, Sudan: new ideas for long-term partnership, success factors and guidelines for other groups

Sudanese medical volunteers have a long history of working in districts with poor health-care infrastructure. Altababa medical volunteer group [AMVG] was established by Sudanese physicians working in Saudi Arabia who desired to contribute to improving clinical services and training in their country of origin. This paper documents steps in the planning and evaluation of AMVG's first mission to Almanagil hospital in Sudan in 2013. Over a 3-day period the visiting team of 4 physicians performed 25 laparoscopic surgical and obstetric/gynaecological procedures and 36 echocardiogram tests-all with hands-on training-presented 11 lectures and consulted with 137 patients. A total of 247 trainees and patients completed a 22-item evaluation survey. The first mission was highly rated by both trainees [health-care providers] and patients. The results provided a road map for volunteers to accomplish cost-effective goals in small hospitals with modest facilities

Rapid detection of Toxoplasma gondii antigen in experimentally infected mice by dot- ELISA

Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide endemic disease. In congenitally infected infants and AIDS patients, toxoplasmosis causes high rates of morbidity and mortality. In these cases antibody detection is difficult; so detection of parasite or its components could be useful tool for early detection and following treatment of the infection. Sixty-three BALB/c mice were injected intra-peritoneal with 5x10[3] tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii RH strain, nine mice were sacrificed daily for 7 days. Fourteen mice were injected with phosphate buffer saline as control group. Dot-ELISA was performed for detection of T.gondii antigen in mice sera and capture -ELISA was done as golden standard assay too. Toxoplasma gondii antigen was detected from day 2 in mice sera; 22% of mice sera on day 2, 33% on day 3,77% on day 4 and 100% on day 5 till their death on day 7 had shown antigenemia by dot -ELISA, no positive result was detected in control mice by dot-ELISA. Dot-ELISA is a sensitive method for diagnosis of T. gondii infection in the animal model; also, this technique is more rapid and easy to perform method in comparison with capture-ELISA