ABSTRACT
Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is endemic in north-west of Libya forlong time andit’s spread to other new foci continues to involve new areaslike Taurgha, Sirt and recently, Zliten. Most ofthe patients in north-west of Libya were infected with zoonoticCutaneous Leishmaniasis, which caused by leishmania major, althoughsome cases of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by leishmania tropica were also reported. Zliten is a coastal city in the north west of Libya;with more than 289000 people; and now isknown to be a new focus since 2016 when the sudden increase of the number of patients with Cutaneous Leishmaniasis had occurred. Aims: This study was performed to observe epidemiological changes about incidence, age of patients, geographical distribution in Zliten city over a period of last 2 year (2017 and 2018).Study Design:Cross-sectional study as retrospective study over time of twoyears, involving all patients, who were presented or referred, to get management of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, in three accredited outpatient departments for cutaneousleishmania (in Zliten). The data were collected and analyzed in Zliten Teching Hospital.Place and Duration of Study: Outpatient Department of Dermatology and Venereology of Zliten Teaching Hospital between 1stJanuary 2017 and 31stDecember 2018.Methodology: The study included all patients (different gender and from all age groups) withCutaneous Leishmaniasis, who sought medical advicein dermatology reference clinics in Zliten over the period of 2 years (2017 and 2018). The main collected data were age, sex, number of lesions, and affected sites in the body, residency of the patients, year and month of presentation. The analysis ofdata was made with the use of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 25).Results:Eight hundred thirty nine patients were included in this study. The majority of patients came from Zliten and these represented 95.6%, while the most of them came from Majer (south easternpart of Zliten City with more than 25000 people living in it) and represented 45.5% of total patients with CL included in this study, followed by Al-juma (south westernpart of Zliten with around 52000 people), represented (28%) of total patients with CL.Males were found to be more affected, with male to female ratio, 2.4:1. The most affected age group were these less than forty with peak incidence at age group (20 yrs to 30 yrs). The registered patients in 2017 were 397, this number had increasedslightly to be 440 in the following year (2018).The distribution of patients had shown seasonal variations, with steep increase in the number of cases in December, November and January.Conclusion:Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is remained to be amajor health problem in Zliten, affecting a large number of population every year and need further study to determine molecular identification of parasites, and more efforts are needed to control the vector and reservoir.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the prevalence and risk factors of Giardia (G.) lamblia infections among the aboriginal community during the wet and dry seasons. Methods: A total of 473 stool samples from the aborigines in Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia were collected during wet (n=256) and dry seasons (n=217). Smear of all the PVA-preserved stool samples were subjected to Trichrome staining and microscopic examination under 1 000 x magnification (Nikon eclipse E100) for the detection of G. lamblia. Positivity was recorded based on the presence of G. lamblia in trophozoite and/or cyst forms. Results: The prevalence of giardiasis was 12.10% and 8.29% during the wet and dry season, respectively. Age of less or equal to 15 years old and presence of other family members with G. lamblia infection were found to be the significant risk factors to acquire G. lamblia infections during both seasons. Untreated water supply was the significant risk factor of giardiasis during the dry season. This study highlighted the possibility of anthroponotic transmission of G. lamblia during both seasons and waterborne transmission during the dry season in the aboriginal community. Conclusions: This study suggests that seasonal variation plays an important role in the prevalence and risk factor of G. lamblia infection in the aboriginal community. Therefore, close contact with Giardia-infected family members and water-related activities or usage of untreated water must be avoided to reduce the burden of G. lamblia infection in this community.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the prevalence and risk factors of Giardia (G.) lamblia infections among the aboriginal community during the wet and dry seasons. Methods: A total of 473 stool samples from the aborigines in Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia were collected during wet (n=256) and dry seasons (n=217). Smear of all the PVA-preserved stool samples were subjected to Trichrome staining and microscopic examination under 1 000 x magnification (Nikon eclipse E100) for the detection of G. lamblia. Positivity was recorded based on the presence of G. lamblia in trophozoite and/or cyst forms. Results: The prevalence of giardiasis was 12.10% and 8.29% during the wet and dry season, respectively. Age of less or equal to 15 years old and presence of other family members with G. lamblia infection were found to be the significant risk factors to acquire G. lamblia infections during both seasons. Untreated water supply was the significant risk factor of giardiasis during the dry season. This study highlighted the possibility of anthroponotic transmission of G. lamblia during both seasons and waterborne transmission during the dry season in the aboriginal community. Conclusions: This study suggests that seasonal variation plays an important role in the prevalence and risk factor of G. lamblia infection in the aboriginal community. Therefore, close contact with Giardia-infected family members and water-related activities or usage of untreated water must be avoided to reduce the burden of G. lamblia infection in this community.
ABSTRACT
Background: Diarrhoeal diseases are common among children in developing countries, and are caused by several aetiological agents including Cryptosporidium sp. Several species of this parasite exist which may belong to either anthroponotic or zoonotic forms. With recent application of molecular tools, species involved in human transmission in any locality and sources of infection can now be determined. Aim: We screened children with acute diarrhoea at a paediatric hospital in Accra, Ghana for enteric parasites to determine frequency of cryptosporidial diarrhoea. Cryptosporidium isolates were then characterized by molecular methods to determine the genetic species in transmission. Methodology: A total of 365 diarrhoeic children of age ≤ 5 years were used in this cross-sectional study. Stool samples were collected and tested for enteric parasites by microscopy and ELISA. Cryptosporidium isolates were subsequently genotyped by PCR-RFLP and confirmed by sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene. Demographic and clinical data were obtained by a structured questionnaire and data analysed for possible association with cryptosporidial diarrhoea. Results: Enteric parasites detected were Cryptosporidium sp. (22.2%), G. lamblia (5.8%) and E. histolytica (0.8%). Neither gender nor breastfeeding habits, presence of domestic animals, source of children’s food, seasons (dry or rainy) appeared to be associated with infection of Cryptosporidium sp. However, age of children, source of drinking water, and education level of mother seems to have association with infection of the parasite. Genotyping results show that C. parvum is the only species involved in transmission. Conclusion: Cryptosporidium parvum is the commonest enteric parasite causing diarrhoea among children with acute diarrhoea. Children ≤ 3 years and those who drank sachet water were most affected. A carefully planned health education among illiterate mothers and improved sanitary conditions could reduce rate of infections. Further sub-genotyping of C. parvum is needed to determine whether source of infection is zoonotic or anthroponotic.