Study of the disturbance of S. hematobium in El-Menya Governorate

Schistosomiasis is an endemic disease and one of the major health problems in Egypt. Although schistosomiasis is essentially a rural disease, it is increasingly seen in urban and semi-urban areas. In this study, all districts of El-Minya Governorate were examined for S. haematobium aiming to determine the prevalence and seasonality of the disease in the different districts. The clinical and laboratory results were collected and validated in the field and centrally analysed in the Department of Community Medicine, with cooperation of Tropical Medicine Department, El-Minya University. The study revealed that the prevalence rates of S. haematobium for population in general and school children in particular vary in different districts with seasonal variation. The highest rates were observed in EI-Edwa [8.9 percent]. The lowest rates were in El-Minya rural district [3.5 percent] The prevalence rates were higher in Autumn [6.1 percent] and winter [5.9 percent] than in Spring [4.5 percent] and Summer [4.7 percent] and were higher in school children [6-15 years] in the different localities. The overall prevalence rate of S. haematobium in the governorate is decreasing. Terminal hematuria and dysuria were; the main complaints of examined positive cases. In conclusion, the prevalence rates of S. haematobium in E!-Minya Governorate show variation in relation to locality and seasons. These rates were higher in school children [6-15 years] in the different districts. The overall prevalence rate of S. haematobium in the governorate is decreasing. Study of the intensity of infection linked to disease morbidity in addition to well planned health education program with more attention to environmental health are recommended by the authors

Growth pattern in cardiac patients in relation to somatomedin and growth hormone levels

General patterns of growth as well as serum levels of Growth hormone[GH] and Somatomedin-C [Sm-C] were assessed in 25 healthy infants and children and in 58 patients with heart diseases [25 with rheumatic heart disease, 18 with congenital acyanotic heart disease and 15 with congenital cyanotic heart disease]. Obvious growth retardation of variable degrees was present in cardiac patients being more pronounced in congenital heart disease patients, mostly the cyanotic types. A highly significant lower serum levels of both GH and Sm were detected in cardiac patients compared to control. There was no significant difference between the serum levels of GH in the three studied groups of patients, while a highly significant difference in the serum levels of Sm existed between them. A significant lower serum levels of GH and Sm were encountered in patients below the 10th percentile, compared to those above the 10th percentile. The results of this work point to the endocrinal contribution in the development of growth retardation in cardiac patients, as suggested by the low levels of GH and Sm found in cardiac patients